FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.    LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,   D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM  TO 

THE  LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Section  /  0  o^t^C^ 


VvV 


'U(>^^ 


THE 


JAp«1  xS  1933 


/ 


POETS   OF    THE   CHURCH 


A  SERIES  OF  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 


OF 


HYMN-WRITERS 


WITH    NOTES    ON    THEIR    HYMNS 


/: 


BY 


EDWIN    F.    HATFIELD,    D.D. 


NEW  YORK 
ANSON    D.    F.    RANDOLPH    &    COMPANY. 


Copyright,  1884,  by 
Anson  D.  F.  Randolph  &  Company. 


This  series  of  Biographical  Sketches  of  Hymn- Writers 
was  the  last  contribution  of  Dr.  Hatfield  to  hymnology,— a 
subject  that  deeply  interested  him  during  his  ministry  of 
over  half  a  century.  The  manuscript  was  left,  at  his 
death,  nearly  ready  for  the  press.  A  few  unimportant 
changes  have  been  made,  and  an  index  of  the  principal 
hymns  of  the  authors  noticed  in  these  sketches  has  been 
added. 

The  work  is  now  issued  in  response  to  many  requests  for 
its  publication,  with  the  hope  that  it  may  interest  the  gen- 
eral reader,  and  prove  a  useful  addition  to  the  literature  of 
the  subject. 

New  York,  November,  1884 


INDEX  OF  AUTHOE,S. 


PAGE 

Adams,  Sarah  Fuller  [Flower]  . .  1 

Addison,  Joseph 4 

Alexander,  Cecll,  Frances  [Hum- 
phreys]    9 

Alexander,  James  Waddel 10 

Alexander,  William  Lindsay 13 

Allen,  James 15 

Allen,  Oswald 16 

Alline,  Henry 18 

Ambrose 19 

Angelus  Silesius 23 

Anstice,  Joseph 22 

AuBER,  Harriet 23 

Austin,  John 25 

AvELiNG,  Thomas  William  B...     .  27 

Bacon,  Leonard 28 

Baker,  Sir  Henry  Willlams,  Bart.  31 

Bakewell,  John 84 

Bancroft,  Charitie  Lees  [Smith].  35 

Barbauld,  Anna  L^titia  [AikjnJ.  36 

Barlow,  Joel 41 

Bateman,  Henry 45 

Bragge-Bathurst, William  Hiley.  48 

Baxter,  Richard . .  50 

Beddo  JE,  Benjamin 53 

Beman,  Nathan  Sydney  Smith 55 

Benedict,  Esastus  Cornelius 58 

Bennett,  Henry 60 

Benson,  Richard  Meux 61 

Bernard,  of  Clairvaux 63 

Bernard,  of  Morlaix. 64 

Berridge,  John 66 

Bethune,  George  Washington 70 

BiCKERSTE TH,  EDWARD 74 

Bickersteth,  Edward  Henry 76 

Blacklock,  Thomas 78 

BoDEN,  James 81 

BONAR,  Horatius 82 

Bonar,  Jane  Catharine  [Lundie]  .  85 

BoKTHWiCK,  Jane 86 

BoDRiGNON,  Antoinette 87 

Bourne,  Hugh 90 

BowRiNG,  Sir  John 91 

Brady,  Nicholas 94 

Bridges,  Matthew 95 

Brooks,  Charles  Timothy 97 

Brown,  Phcebe  Hinsdale 98 

Browne,  Simon 102 

Bruce,  Michael 105 

Bryant,  W  illiam  Cullen 107 

Bulfinch,  Stephen  Greenleaf 111 

Burder,  George 112 

Burdsall,  Richard 115 


PA8B 

Burnham,  Richard 117 

Burns,  James  Drummond 118 

Burton,  John,  Sen 121 

Burton,  John,  Jun 123 

Byrom,  John 124 

Campbell,  Robert 126 

Campbell,  Thomas 127 

Carlyle,  Joseph  Dacre 130 

Cary,  Alice  anu  Phcebe 132 

Caswall,  Edward 135 

Cawood,  John 138 

Cennick,  John 139 

Chambers,  John  Datid 143 

Chandler,  John 145 

CoDNER,  Elizabeth 146 

Coffin,  Charles    146 

Collins,  Henry 147 

Collyer,  William  Bengo 148 

Conder,  Josiah 151 

Cook,  Russell  Sturgis  154 

Cotterill,  Thomas ...  15t} 

CowPER,  William 158 

Cox,  Frances  Elizabeth 165 

Coxe,  Arthur  Cleveland 166 

Crabbe,  George 170 

Crewdson,  Jane  [Fox]  ...   173 

Croswell,  William 174 

Cruger,  Johann 176 

Cunningham,  John  William 177 

Da  VIES,  Samuel 180 

Davis,  Eliel 183 

Davis,  Thomas 184 

Deck,  James  George 186 

De  Fleury,  Maria 187 

Denny,  Sir  Edward 189 

Dickson,  David 191 

Dix,  William  Chatterton 195 

Doane,  George  Washington 196 

Dobell,  John 199 

Dober,  Anna  [Schindler] 200 

Doddridge,  Philip 201 

Drummond,  David  T.  K 208 

Dry'Den,  John 210 

Duffield,  George 213 

Dunn,  Robinson  Potter 215 

DwiGHT,  Timothy 216 

East,  John 2:33 

Eastburn,  James  Wallis 222 

Edmeston,  James 224 

Elliot,  Ricciard 237 

Elliott,  Charlotte 228 

Elliott,  Julia  Anne 230 

(V) 


VI 


INDEX  OF  AUTHOES. 


PAGE 

Elven,  Cornelius 331 

Enfield,  William 332 

EvAJ«s,  James  Harington 234 

Evans,  Jonathan 236 

Faber,  Frederick  William 238 

Fawcett,  John 243 

Fellows,  John 246 

Fitch,  Eleazar  Thompson 247 

Flowerdew,  Alice 249 

Ford,  I  )avid  Everard 250 

Francis,  Benjamin 253 

FuLBERTOs  Carnotensis 253 

Gerhardt,  Paul 254 

Gibbons,  Thomas 258 

Giles,  Charles 261 

Gill,  Thomas  Hornblower 263 

GooDE,  William 366 

GouGH,  Benjamin 268 

Grant,  Sir  Robert 370 

Gray,  Jane  Lewers 372 

Gregory  1 274 

Grigg,  Joseph 276 

GuRNEY,  Archer  Thompson 279 

GuRNEY,  John  Hampden 281 

GuYON,  Jeanne  Marie  Bouyier  de 
LA  Motte 283 

Hall,  Christopher  Newman 386 

Hammond,  William 389 

Harbaugh,  Henry 291 

Harmer,  Samuel  Young 293 

Hart,  Joseph 394 

Hastings,  Thomas 397 

Havergal,  William  Henry 302 

Haweis,  Thomas 304 

Heath,  George 308 

Heber,  Reginald.  308 

Heginbothom,  Ottiwell 313 

Hemans,    Felicia   Dorothea 

[Browne] 315 

Hensel,  Luise 321 

Hervey,  James 321 

Hewett,  John  William 325 

Hill,  Rowland 326 

HiLLHOUSE,  Augustus  Lucas 331 

Hindsdale,  Grace  Webster 334 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell 335 

Hope,  Henry  Joy  McCracken 338 

Hopkins,  Josiah 339 

HosKiNs,  Joseph 340 

How,  William  Walsham 341 

Humphreys,  Joseph 343 

HuPTON,  Job 345 

HuRN,  William 346 

Hyde,  Abigail  [Bradley] 349 

Jervis,  Thomas 350 

Johnson,  Samuel 352 

Jones,  Edmund 353 

JuDKiN,  Thomas  James 354 

JuDSON,  Sarah  [Hall]  Boardman.  356 

Keble,  John 357 


PAOH 

Keith,  George 361 

Kelly,  Thomas 363 

Kempenfelt,  Richard 365 

Kempthorne,  John 368 

Ken,  Thomas 369 

Kethe,  William 375 

Key,  Francis  Scott  377 

Kingsbury,  William 379 

Kuppis,  Andrew 380 

Laurentius  Laurenti 383 

Lee,  Richard 384 

Leeson,  Jane  E 385 

Lloyd,  William  Freeman 386 

liUTHER,  Martin 887 

Lyte,  Henry  Francis , 391 

McAll,  Robert  Stephens 395 

McCheyne,Robert  Murray 397 

Mackay,  Margaret 400 

Madan,  Judith  [Cowper] 401 

Madan,  Martin 402 

Mant,  Richard 405 

Marriott,  John 409 

Mason,  John .' 410 

Mason,  William 413 

Massie,  Richard 415 

Maude,  Mary  Fawler 416 

Medley,  Samuel 416 

Merger,  William 419 

Merrick,  James  430 

MiDLANE,  Albert 433 

Millard,  James  Elwin 433 

Mills,  Henry 424 

MiLMAN,  Henry  Hart 435 

Milton,  John 430 

MoNSELL,  John  Samuel  Bewxey.  . .  434 

Montgomery,  James 437 

Moore,  Henry 444 

Moore,  Thomas 446 

Morell,  Thomas 449 

Morrison,  John 451 

Muhlenberg,  William  Augustus.  .  453 

Neale,  John  Mason 454 

Neander,  Joachim 457 

Needham,  John 458 

Nelson,  David 460 

Nevin,  jEdwin  H 463 

Newman,  John  Henry 464 

Newton,  John 469 

Noel,  Gerard  Thomas 473 

OccoM,  Samson 475 

Ogilvie,  John 477 

Olivers,  Thomas 479 

Onderdonk,  Henry  Ustick 483 

OsLER,  Edward 485 

Palmer,  Ray 486 

Park,  Roswell 489 

Parr,  Harriet 4U0 

Peabody,  William  Bourne  Oliver.  491 

Peacock,  John 4'J  ? 

Perronet,  Edward 4'.)i 


INDEX  OF  AUTHORS. 


vn 


Peteks,  Mart  [Bowly] 496 

PiKiE,  Alexander 497 

Pbentiss,  Elizabeth  [Payson]  —  499 

Rabanus,  [Matjrus  Magnentius].  . .  501 

Raffles,  Thomas 502 

Reed,  Andrew 505 

RiNGWALDT,  Bartholomew 507 

RippON,  John 508 

Robert,  II.  (King  of  France) 511 

Robertson,  William 512 

Robinson,  Charles  Seymour 514 

Robinson,  Robert 515 

Rosenroth,  Christian  Knorr  von.  518 

Rowe,  John 519 

Ryland,  John 520 

Saffery,  Maria  Grace  525 

Sandys,  George 526 

Santolius,  Maglorianus    528 

Santolius,  Victorinus  529 

Scheffler,  Johann ••• .  530 

Schmolke,  Benjamin 532 

Scott,  Eliz.abeth 533 

Scott,  Thomas 535 

Scott,  Walter 537 

Seagrave,  Robert 542 

Sears,  Edmund  Hamilton 546 

Seymour,  Aaron  Crossley  Hobart.  547 
Shindler,  Mary  Stanley  Bunce.  . .  549 
Shirley,   Selina  Countess   of 

Huntingdon 552 

Shirley,  Walter 555 

Shrubsole,  William 558 

Sigourney,  Lydia  Huntley 560 

Smith,  Caroline  Sprague 564 

Smith,  Samuel  Francis 566 

Spitta,  Carl  Johann  Philipp 569 

Steele,  Anne 570 

Stennett,  Joseph 573 


PAGE 

Stennett,  Samuel  577 

Steknhold,  Thomas 580 

Stocker,  John 583 

Stowell,  Hugh 584 

Strong,  Nathan 587 

Swain,  Joseph 590 

Tappan,  William  Bingham 591 

Tate,  Nahum ''93 

Taylor,  Ann 596 

Taylor,  Jane 598 

Taylor,  John 601 

Taylor,  Thomas  Rawson. 604 

Tersteegen,  Gerhard 605 

Theodore  [Studites] 608 

Theodulph  [of  Orleans] 609 

Thomas  [de  Celano] 610 

Thompson,  Alexander  Ramsay  . . .  612 

Thrupp,  Dorothy  Ann 614 

ToPLADY,  Augustus  Montague  —  615 
Turner,  Daniel 619 

Urwick,  William 621 

Wallin,  Benjamin 624 

Wardlaw,  Ralph C26 

Watts,  Isaac 629 

Weissel,  George 646 

Wesley,  Charles 647 

Wesley,  John 659 

Wesley,  Samuel 665 

Wesley,  Samuel,  Jun 670 

White,  Henry  Kirke 672 

Williams,  Helen  Maria 676 

Williams,  William 679 

WiNKWoRTH,  Catherine 683 

WooDHULL,  Alfred  Alexander,  . .  684 
Wordsworth,  Christopher 6i-8 

ZiNZENDORF,  NiKOLAUS  LUDWIG  . .  .    689 

Zwingeb,  Theodore 694 


THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


SARAH  FULLER  [FLOWER]  ADAMS. 
1805-1848. 

Saeah  Fuller  was  the  second  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin Flower,  "one  of  the  fathers  of  English  journal- 
ism." He  was  the  son  of  George  Flower  (1715-1778),  a 
wealthy  tradesman  of  London,  and  one  of  the  deacons  of 
the  dissenting  congregation  (Rev.  Edward  Hitchins),  wor- 
shipping in  White's  Row,  Spitalfields,  and  was  an  intimate 
friend  and  correspondent  of  Toplady.  The  wife  of  George 
Flower  was  a  sister  of  Richard  and  William  Fuller,  for 
whom  two  of  her  sons  were  named.  The  summer  residence 
of  the  family  was  at  Tooting,  Surrey.  There  they  became 
attached  to  the  society  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Wnton,  D.D.,  and  when  in  1776  he  became  the  pastor  of 
the  Weigh  House  Chapel,  Little  Eastcheap,  London,  they, 
too,  became  members  of  that  society.  Toj)lady,  Flower, 
and  Wilton  all  died  the  same  year — 1778.  Dr.  Wilton  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  John  Clayton,  who,  in  1779,  married 
Mary,  the  elder  daughter  of  Mrs.  Flower.  Of  their  children, 
three — John,  George,  and  William — became  Independent 
ministers,  two  of  them  London  pastors  of  much  distinction. 

Benjamin  Flower,  having  been  unfortunate  in  business, 
for  five  years  served  a  commercial  house  at  Rotterdam  as  a 
travelling  agent,  and,  by  his  intercourse  with  politicians  of 
the  Continent,  became  a  thorough  radical.  Returning  to 
England  in  1789,  he  became  a  resident  of  Cambridge,  and, 
by  the  advice  and  aid  of  his  brother  Richard,  of  Hertford, 
started  the  Camhridge  Intelligencer,  a  weekly  paper  of 


2  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

radical  principles  and  of  large  circulation  and  influence, 
highly  commended  by  the  Westminster  Review  (XV.  334). 
The  freedom  Avith  which  he  criticised  the  Bishop  of  Llan- 
daff  resulted,  in  a  trial  before  the  House  of  Lords,  and  a 
brief  imprisonment  in  Newgate.  Shortly  after  his  release, 
about  1800,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Gould,  an 
excellent  and  highly-gifted  lady  of  Dorsetshire.  In  1804 
the  Intelligencer  was  discontinued,  and  he  removed  to  Har- 
low, in  Essex,  where  he  opened  a  printing  office  and  estab- 
lished the  Political  Remew,  a  radical  monthly.  He  had 
also  a  publishing  office  at  No.  69  Cornhill,  London. 

Such  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Adams,  and  such  were  the 
influences  that  helped  in  the  formation  of  her  character. 
Her  elder  sister,  Eliza,  was  born  (1803)  at  Cambridge.  She 
herself  Avas  born  February  22d,  1805,  at  Harlow,  Her 
mother  did  not  long  survive,  and  the  sisters  thus  came  more 
directly  under  the  formative  hand  of  their  father,  a  liberal 
both  in  politics  and  religion.  At  his  death,  about  1825, 
they  gave  themselves  to  literary  pursuits,  and  soon  after 
removed  to  UiDper  Clapton,  a  suburb  of  London.  The  elder 
sister,  in  1831,  obtained  considerable  distinction  by  the 
publication  of  her  "  Musical  Hlustrations  of  the  Waverley 
Novels."  They  now  attached  themselves  to  the  religious 
society  worshipping  in  South  Place,  Pinsbury,  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  the  gifted  and  eloquent  William  Johnson 
Fox  (1787-1864).  This  gentleman  had  separated  himself 
from  the  Independents,  and  had  taken  a  position,  uncon- 
nected with  any  ecclesiastical  body,  as  a  preacher  or  lec- 
turer in  this  chapel.  Though  classed  among  the  Unitarians, 
he  was  neither  a  rationalist  nor  a  sympathizer  with  Chan- 
ning  or  Martineau.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Westminster  Review,  and,  from  1847  to  1862  (Avitli  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  months  in  1852),  a  member  of  Parliament 
for  Oldham,  Lancashire. 

Sarah  Fuller  Flower  became,  in  1834,  the  wife  of  William 
Bridges  Adams,  a  civil  engineer,  who,  in  1837,  distinguished 
himself  as  the  author  of  an  elaborate  volume  on  "English 
Pleasure  Carriages,"  and  another  on  "  The  Construction  of 


SARAH  FULLER  [FLOWER]  ADAMS.  3 

Common  Roads  and  Railroads. "  He  was  also  a  contributor 
to  some  of  the  princixDal  reviews  and  newspapers.  The 
union  thus  formed  was  most  congenial.  They  resided  at 
St.  John's  Wood,  on  Hampstead,  London. 

In  1841  Mrs.  Adams  gave  to  the  press  a  dramatic  poem, 
in  five  acts,  on  the  martyrdom  of  "  Vivia  Perpetua."  Tlie 
youthful  mother  whose  faith  she  thus  commemorated  suf- 
fered heroically  at  Carthage,  Africa,  a.d.  203,  as  a  devoted 
follower  of  Christ  (Butler's  "Lives  of  the  Saints,"  March 
7).  It  is  more  than  probable  that  Mrs.  Adams  was  in  full 
sympathy  with  the  heroine  of  her  drama.  At  the  solicita- 
tion of  her  pastor,  she  also  contributed  thirteen  hymns  to 
the  compilation  prepared  by  him  for  the  use  of  his  chapel, 
published  1840-41,  in  two  parts,  six  in  the  first  and  seven  in 
the  second  part.  Of  these,  the  two  best  known — "  Nearer, 
my  God !  to  Thee,"  and  "  He  sendeth  sun,  he  sendeth 
shower" — are  in  the  second  part.  For  this  work  her  sis- 
ter, Eliza,  wrote  sixty-two  tunes.  Mrs.  Adams'  only  other 
publication,  a  catechism  for  children,  entitled  "  The  Flock 
at  the  Fountain,"  appeared  in  1845. 

Inheriting  the  feeble  organization  of  their  mother,  the 
sisters  soon  yielded  to  disease.  Eliza,  after  a  lingering  ill- 
ness, expired  December  12,  1846.  Worn  down  by  faithful 
devotion  to  the  invalid,  ]\Irs.  Adams'  health  gradually  de- 
clined, and  she  closed  her  earthly  pilgrimage  August  14, 
1848,  with  entire  resignation  and  joyful  hope.  "  She  wore 
away,"  as  one  of  her  friends  testifies,  "almost  her  last 
breath  bursting  into  unconscious  song  as  the  gentle  spirit 
glided  from  its  beautiful  frame."  The  following  stanza, 
from  one  of  her  own  lovely  hymns,  in  "  Vivia  Perpetua," 
fitly  expresses  her  trust  in  Christ : 

"  Part  in  peace — Chi'ist's  life  was  peace  ; 

Let  us  live  our  life  in  Him  ; 
Part  in  peace — Clmst's  death  was  peace  ; 

Let  us  die  ovir  death  in  Him. 
Part  in  peace — Chi-ist  promise  gave 
Of  a  Hfe  beyond  the  grave, 
Where  all  mortal  partings  cease  : 
Brethren,  sisters  !  part  in  peace." 


4  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Her  remains  were  laid  to  rest  in  tlie  Forest  Street  burial- 
ground,  near  Harlow,  lier  native  place.  Her  uncle,  Richard 
Flower,  emigrated  to  America  in  1822,  and  founded  the 
town  of  Albion,  111.  Sir  Roundell  Palmer  was  misinformed 
when  he  wrote  that  Mrs.  Adams  also  "left  England  for 
America."    Her  hymn, 

"  Nearer,  my  God  1  to  Thee,"  etc., 

was  introduced  to  American  Christians  in  the  "Service 
Book,"  published  (1844)  by  Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke, 
D.D.,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  whence  it  was  soon  transferred  to 
other  collections. 


JOSEPH  ADDISON. 
1672-1719. 

The  father  and  grandfather  of  Joseph  Addison  were  both 
clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  each  was  named 
Launcelot.  The  poet  was  the  son  of  Launcelot  Addison, 
D.D.  (1632-1703),  and  Jane  Gulston,  the  sister  of  the  Rev. 
William  Gulston,  D. D. ,  Bishop  of  Bristol,  England.  Joseph 
was  born  at  Milston,  in  Wiltshire,  May  1, 1672,  the  second 
of  five  children.  Dr.  Addison,  who  had  been  appointed  in 
1670  Chaplain  to  the  King,  was,  in  1683,  made  Dean  of 
Lichfield.  He  was  the  author  of  several  theological  works, 
and  in  1699  published  a  volume  of  "Devotional  Poems, 
Festival  and  Practical." 

Joseph  Addison  inherited  his  father's  love  of  learning. 
He  was  educated  first  at  home,  then  at  Amesbury  and  Salis- 
bury, finishing  his  preparatory  course  at  the  Charter  House, 
London.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  entered  Queen's  College, 
Oxford,  of  which  his  father  was  a  graduate.  Two  years 
later  (1689)  he  was  transferred  to  Magdalen  College.  Hav- 
ing obtained  distinction  in  Latin  verse,  he  graduated  M.A. 
in  1693.  Several  of  his  minor  poems  ar.peared  (1693,  1694) 
in  the  third  and  fourth  vobimes  of  D  vd'^n's  "Miscellane- 


JOSEPH  ADDISON.  6 

OTIS  Poems. "  A  poem  addressed  to  King  William,  celebrat- 
ing one  of  his  military  campaigns,  appeared  in  1695,  and 
led  to  his  obtaining  in  1699  a  royal  pension  of  £300  a  year. 
A  Latin  poem,  in  1697,  on  the  "  Peace  of  Ryswick,"  added 
to  his  renown.  A  year  was  spent  at  Blois,  in  France,  and 
two  years  in  travelling  on  the  Continent.  By  the  death  of 
King  William,  in  1702,  his  pension  was  lost,  and  he  re- 
turned home  to  engage  anew  in  literary  pursuits. 

In  1704  he  ingratiated  himself  into  the  favor  of  the 
Ministry  by  the  publication  of  his  poetical  "  Campaign,"  a 
laudation  of  Marlborough  and  the  battle  of  Blenheim.  The 
same  year  he  succeeded  John  Locke,  as  Excise  Commis- 
sioner of  Appeals.  His  "Remarks  on  Italy"  appeared  in 
1705.  Tlie  following  year  he  became  Under  Secretary  of 
State,  and  in  1709  Secretary  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ire- 
land, and  Keeper  of  the  Records  in  Birmingham  Tower. 
Another  ministerial  revolution  in  1710  deprived  him  of 
office  for  four  years.  His  leisure  was  employed  in  literary 
work.  He  wrote  five  essays  for  the  Whig  Examiner,  and 
was  a  frequent  contributor  to  TTie  Tatler,  edited  by  his 
schoolmate  and  intimate  friend,  Sir  Richard  Steele.  The 
Tatler  came  to  an  end  January  2,  1711,  and  The  Spectator, 
No.  1,  appeared  March  1,  1711.  It  was  continued  in  555 
Numbers,  daily  (Sundays  excepted),  until  December  6, 1712. 
It  Avas  revived  June  18,  1714,  and  continued  in  80  numbers, 
thrice  a  week,  until  December  20, 1714.  Of  this  celebrated 
series  of  periodical  essays,  Addison,  as  "  Clio,"  was  one  of 
the  principal  editors.  He  contributed  also  about  fifty 
papers,  in  1713,  to  The  Guardian,  and  to  The  Freeholder, 
1715, 1716. 

A  volume  of  his  "  Poems "  was  issued  in  1712,  and  his 
"Cato:  a  Tragedy,"  in  1713.  Queen  Anne  died  in  1714, 
and  Addison  again  came  into  favor  and  obtained  prefer- 
ment— first  as  secretary  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland, 
then  in  1716  as  one  of  the  lords  of  trade,  and  in  1717  as 
Secretary  of  State  and  a  privy  councillor.  He  held  a  seat 
in  Parliament  from  1708,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  in- 
terval in  1709,  until  his  decease.     By  liis  literary  fame  he 


6  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

won  tlie  hand  of  tlie  Countess-Dowager  of  Warwick  and 
Holland,  to  whom  he  was  married  August  2, 1716,  becom- 
ing thus  the  nominal  master  of  the  famous  Holland  House, 
where  he  died  in  peace  June  17,  1719.  An  infant  daughter 
survived  him.  The  marriage  proved  uncongenial,  and 
drove  him  into  indulgences  which  probably  shortened  his 
life.  Tickell,  to  whom  was  entrusted  the  publication  of  his 
"  Works,"  celebrated  his  praise  in  an  elegy  addressed  to  his 
step-son,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  In  this  ode  occur  the  fol- 
lowing lines : 

.  ..."  Of  just  and  good  he  reasoned  strong, 
Cleared  some  great  truth,  or  raised  some  serious  song; 
There  patient  showed  us  the  wise  course  to  steer, 
A  candid  censor  and  a  friend  severe ; 
There  taught  us  how  to  live,  and — oh !  too  high 
The  price  for  knowledge — taught  us  how  to  die." 

The  allusion  in  the  last  line  is  thought  to  refer  to  his  last 
interview  with  the  gay  young  earl, — "  I  have  sent  for  you," 
he  said,  "that  you  may  see  how  a  Christian  can  die." 

The  son  and  grandson  of  clergymen,  Addison  had  been 
designed  for  the  Church,  but  the  prospect  of  political  pre- 
femient  and  power  drew  him  into  another  line  of  life.  He 
never,  however,  forswore  his  faith  in  Christ.  The  savor 
of  divine  truth,  and  oft  of  godliness,  pervades  both  his 
poetry  and  prose.  The  five  well-known  hymns,  by  which 
he  has  endeared  himself  so  greatly  to  the  Christian  world, 
appeared  at  intervals  in  The  Spectato7\  The  paper  (No. 
441)  for  Saturday,  July  26, 1712,  treats  of  Man's  Depend- 
ence on  the  Care  of  the  Almighty,  and  closes  in  these 
words :  "  David  has  very  beautifully  represented  this  reli- 
ance on  God  Almighty  in  his  Twenty-third  Psalm,  which 
is  a  kind  of  Pastoral  Hymn,  and  filled  with  those  allusions 
which  are  used  in  that  kind  of  writing.  As  the  poetry  is 
very  exquisite,  I  shall  present  my  readers  with  the  follow- 
ing translation  of  it : 

'  The  Lord  my  pasture  shall  prepare,'  "  etc. 

Refreshed  in  spirit,  doubtless,  by  these  sweet  utterances^ 
he  gave  his  readers,  a  fortnight  later — Saturday,  August  9, 


JOSEPH  ADDISON.  7 

1712  (No.  453) — another  specimen  of  his  familiarity  with 
the  sacred  Muse.  His  theme  is  "  Gratitude,"  and  he  says 
at  the  close  :  "  I  have  already  communicated  to  the  public 
some  pieces  of  divine  poetry,  and,  as  they  have  met  with  a 
very  favorable  reception,  I  shall  from  time  to  time  iDublish 
any  work  of  the  same  nature  which  has  not  yet  appeared 
in  print  and  may  be  acceptable  to  my  readers."  Then  fol- 
lows that  precious  testimony  to  the  loving-kindness  and 
grace  of  the  Almighty  : 

"When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God,"  etc., 

in  thirteen  stanzas. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  ten  days  after — August  19, 1712 
— Addison  published  a  communication  from  the  Rev.  Isaac 
Watts  with  his  version  of  the  114th  Psalm : 

"When  Israel  freed  from  Pharaoh's  hand,"  etc. 

Addison  was  but  two  years  older  than  Watts,  and  may 
have  been  led  into  the  wTiting  of  hymns  by  the  publica- 
tion of  Watts'  hymns,  1707-1709,  with  which  he  had  un- 
doubtedly been  made  acquainted. 

Again,  at  the  close  of  another  fortnight — August  23, 1712 
— he  discoursed  (No.  465)  of  the  Means  of  Confirming 
One's  Faith  in  God,  and,  as  conducive  to  it,  advises  "  Re- 
tirement from  the  World,"  and  "Religious  Meditation." 
"  The  Supreme  Being,"  he  says,  "  has  made  the  best  argu- 
ments for  his  own  existence  in  the  formation  of  the  heav- 
ens and  the  earth,  and  these  are  arguments  which  a  man 
of  sense  can  not  forbear  attending  to  who  is  out  of  the 
noise  and  hurry  of  human  affairs."  "The  Psalmist  has 
very  beautiful  strokes  of  poetry  to  this  purpose  in  that 
exalted  strain, — '  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,' " 
etc.  "As  such  a  bold  and  sublime  manner  of  thinking 
furnishes  very  noble  matter  for  an  ode,  the  reader  may  see 
it  wrought  into  the  following  one  : 

'  The  spacious  firmament  on  high,' "  etc. 
Such  was  the  origin  of  that  ode — so  grand,  noble,  and  ma- 


8  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

jestic,  known  and  sung  everywhere  througliout  the  English- 
speaking  world.  Thackeray,  referring  particularly  to  the 
stanza  beginning  with, 

"  Soon  as  the  evening  shades  prevail," 

remarks :  "  It  seems  to  me  those  verses  shine  like  the  stars. 
They  shine  out  of  a  great,  deep  calm.  When  he  turns  to 
heaven  a  Sabbath  comes  over  that  man's  mind,  and  his  face 
lights  up  fi'om  it  with  a  glory  of  thanks  and  prayer." 

A  period  of  four  weeks  now  intervened,  and  on  Saturday, 
September  20,  1712,  he  treated  (No.  489)  of  the  Grandeur 
of  the  Ocean,  as  suggestive  of  the  greater  Grandeur  of  the 
Creation ;  alludes  to  the  fact  that  he  had  "■  made  several 
voyages  upon  the  sea,"  and  often  been  tossed  in  storms ; 
refers  to  Ps.  cvii.  23-30  as  giving  a  better  description  of  a 
ship  in  a  storm  than  any  he  had  ever  met  with  ;  and  then 
says  of  his  essay :  "  I  shall  accompany  it  with  a  divine  ode 
made  by  a  gentleman  upon  the  conclusion  of  his  travels : 

'  How  are  thy  servants  blessed,  O  Lord ! ' "  etc. 

It  is  in  ten  stanzas.  The  hymn  may  have  been  written  in 
1703,  when  Addison  returned  from  his  travels  abroad. 

A  month  passed,  and  on  Saturday,  October  18th  (No. 
512),  he  published  an  essay  on  the  Apprehension  of  Death 
and  Judgment,  as  experienced  on  a  bed  of  severe  illness, 
and  appended  to  it  a  hymn  that  he  had  composed  while 
thus  afflicted : 

"  When  rising  from  the  bed  of  death,"  etc. 
In  the  fifth  of  his  six  stanzas  Addison  wrote, 

"And  hear  my  Saviour's  dying  groans, 
To  give  those  sorrows  weight " ; 

a  plea  that  needs  to  be  considerably  qualified  to  meet  the 
demands  of  Scriptural  orthodoxy. 

Thackeray  well  observes :  "  K  Swift's  life  was  the  most 
wretched,  I  think  Addison's  was  one  of  the  most  enviable 


CECIL  FRANCES  [HIBIPHEEYS]  ALEXANDER  9 

—a  life  prosperous  and  beautiful,  a  calm  death,  an  immense 
fame,  and  affection  afterward  for  his  happy  and  spotless 


name. 


CECIL  FRANCES  [HUMPHREYS]  ALEXANDER. 

Mes.  Alexander  is  an  Irish  lady,  the  daughter  of  Ma- 
jor Humphreys,  Strabane,  County  Tyrone,  where  she  was 
born  and  educated.     At  an  early  age  she  gave  evidence  of 
superior  intellectual  gifts.     In  1846  she  became  known  to 
the  world  of  song  by  her  "  Verses  for  Holy  Seasons  for  the 
Use  of  School-rooms,"  edited  by  the  Rev.  Walter  Farquhar 
Hook,  D.D.,  Vicar  of  Leeds.     Two  years  afterward  (1848) 
she  published,  with  the  imprimatur  of  the  Rev.  John  Ke- 
ble,  her  "  Hymns  for  Little  Children,"  of  which  more  than 
250,000  copies  have  been  sold.     The  "  Hymns  "  are  a  series 
of  short  poems  on  the  clauses  of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Commandments.     Tlie  same 
year  she  gave  to  the  press  "  The  Baron's  Little  Daughter." 
Miss  Humphreys  in  1850  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Wniiam  Alexander,  a  native  of  Londonderry,  the  son  of 
an  Irish  clergyman  and  a  cousin  of  the  late  Earl  of  Cale- 
don.     Having  served  for  years  as  rector  of  several  import- 
ant parishes,  in  1864  he  was  made  Dean  of  Emly,  and,  in 
1807,  Bishop  of  Derry  and  Raphoe. 

In  the  midst  of  her  domestic  and  parochial  cares  Mrs. 
Alexander  found  time  to  cultivate  her  poetic  gifts.  In 
1857  she  published  her  "Narrative  Hymns";  in  1858, 
"Hymns  Descriptive  and  Devotional" ;  and,  in  1859,  "The 
Legend  of  the  Golden  Prayer,  and  other  Poems."  She  has 
also  published  "Moral  Songs,"  "Poems  on  Subjects  m  the 
Old  Testament,"  and  "  The  Lord  of  the  Forest  and  his  Vas- 
sals :  an  Allegory."  In  1865  she  edited  "  The  Sunday  Book 
of  Poetry,"  one  of  the  "  Golden  Treasury  Series." 

She  resides  at  Londonderry,  Ireland,  and  devotes  the 
proceeds  of  her  publications  to  the  support  of  a  deaf-mute 


10         THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

school  in  lier  neighborhood.  She  has  ever  taken  a  deep 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  poor,  and  especially  of  the 
young,  for  whom  nearly  all  her  books  and  iDoems  have 
been  written.  A  lovely  spirit — devout  and  heavenly,  meek 
and  gentle — j^ervades  all  her  writings.  "  May  this  volume," 
she  says  in  the  Preface  to  her  "  Sunday  Book  of  Poetry," 
"  in  some  measure  tend  to  make  Sunday  a  pleasant  day  to 
children.  May  it  help  to  teach  them  to  praise  God,  the  Fa- 
ther, Son,  and  Spirit ;  to  contemplate  life  and  death  and 
their  own  hearts  as  Christians  should ;  to  understand  the 
spmt  of  the  Bible  ;  and,  through  this  fair  creation,  to  look 
up  to  Him  who  is  its  Creator. " 


JAMES  WADDEL  ALEXANDER. 

1804-1859. 

This  accomplished  scholar  and  divine  was  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent.  The  home  of  the  Alexanders  was  the 
beautiful  and  romantic  valley  of  Virginia.  The  father  of 
James,  afterward  the  celebrated  theologian  of  Princeton 
Seminary— Rev.  Archibald  Alexander,  D.D.  [1772-1851]— 
in  1802  married  Janetta,  daughter  of  James  Waddel,  the 
eloquent  "Blind  Preacher"  of  Wirt's  "British  Spy."  At 
the  residence  of  her  father,  on  an  estate  called  Hopewell, 
at  the  junction  of  Louisa,  Orange,  and  Albemarle  Counties, 
Virginia,  she  gave  birth,  March  13,  1804,  to  her  eldest 
son,  to  whom  she  gave  her  father's  honored  name. 

In  his  fourth  year,  his  parents  became  residents  of  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. ;  and  in  his  ninth  year,  of  Princeton,  N.  J. 
At  the  early  age  of  thirteen,  he  entered  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  and,  having  distinguished  himself  for  his  scholar- 
ship, graduated  September,  1820  ;  entered  the  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary  in  1821 ;  was  appointed  in  April, 
1824,  Mathematical  Tutor  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey ; 


JAMES  WADDEL  ALEXANDEE.  H 

was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  Octo- 
ber 4,  1825  ;  removed  at  the  close  of  the  same  year  to  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  March 
13, 1827,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover.  He  was  pastor  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Trenton,  K.  J.,  from 
January  10,  1829,  until  the  end  of  October,  1832.  In  No- 
vember, he  became  editor  of  The  Presbyterian  of  Phila- 
delphia, relinquishing  this  position  at  the  end  of  a  year, 
to  become  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Belles-Lettres  in  the 
College  of  New  Jersey. 

After  nearly  twelve  years'  occupation  of  his  Professor- 
ship, he  accepted  a  call  from  the  Duane  Street  Presbyterian 
Church  of  New  York  City,  and  October  2,  1844,  entered 
once  more  on  the  pastoral  work.  In  June,  1849,  he  accepted 
the  Professorship  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Church 
Government  in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  to  which 
he  had  been  elected  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  returned  again  to  his  beloved 
Princeton.  The  summer  of  1851  was  most  jDrofitably  spent 
in  Europe,  and,  on  his  return,  in  October,  he  became  the 
pastor  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  of  New 
York,  composed  mainly  of  members  of  his  previous  pas- 
toral charge.  In  this  responsible  and  iniluential  position, 
highly  honored  and  greatly  useful,  he  continued  until  his 
decease,  which  occurred  very  unexj)ectedly  at  Sweet  Briar 
Springs,  Va.,  July  31, 1859. 

Dr.  Alexander  belonged  to  a  family  of  rare  gifts  and 
superior  scholarship,  and  in  his  own  x)erson  fully  sustained 
the  high  character  of  his  lineage.  As  a  Christian  minister, 
as  a  ready  writer,  as  a  ripe  scholar,  as  a  correct  and  pro- 
found thinker,  as  a  pulpit  orator,  and  as  a  faithful  pastor, 
he  had  few  superiors. 

His  active  and  versatile  mind  found  frequent  expression 
in  the  periodical  press.  His  other  iDublications  also  were 
numerous,  and  as  popular  as  they  were  practical  and  use- 
ful. His  contributions  to  the  Princeton  Quarterly  Remew^ 
through  a  long  term  of  years,  were  frequent  and  powerful. 
He  wrote  more  than  thirty  volumes  for  the  American  Sun- 


12         THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

day-scliool  Union,  including  Ms  well-known  work,  "The 
American  Sunday- School  and  its  Adjuncts."  Other  works 
that  he  gave  to  the  press,  at  various  dates,  were  his  "  Gift 
to  the  Afflicted  ";  "  The  American  Mechanic  and  Working- 
Man's  ComiDanion,"  in  2  vols. ;  "  Thoughts  on  Family  Wor 
ship";  "Consolation:  in  Discourses  on  Select  Topics,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Suffering  People  of  God";  "  Memoir  of  Rev. 
Archibald  Alexander,  D.D.";  "Plain  Words  to  a  Young 
Communicant,"  and  "Discourses  on  Common  Topics  of 
Christian  Faith  and  Practice." 

From  an  early  age,  he  amused  his  leisure  hours  with  po- 
etic essays — mainly  as  a  literary  recreation.  He  took  a 
deep  interest  in  Hymnology.  In  1845,  he  contemplated 
the  compilation  of  "  a  small  Hymn  Book,  to  contain  none 
but  unaltered  hymns,  about  250."  An  article  from  his  pen 
in  the  Princeton  Review  for  1850,  on  "  German  Hymnol- 
ogy," shows  how  earnestly  and  successfully  he  had  studied 
the  fascinating  and  fruitful  theme.  In  the  New  YorJc  Ob- 
server for  April  24,  1830,  will  be  found  his  translation 
(under  the  signature  of  "Didjonus")  of  Gerhardt's  "O 
Haupt  voU  Blut  und  Wunden": 

"  0  sacred  head,  now  wounded,"  etc. 

He  contributed,  also,  to  the  Kirchenfreund,  April,  1859, 
a  few  months  only  before  his  decease,  that  peculiarly  sweet 
and  exquisite  version  of  Bernard's  Latin  hymn :  "  Jesu ! 
dulcis  memoria," — beginning  with 

"  Jesus!  how  sweet  thy  mem'ry  is  ! " 

The  last  four  stanzas  are  as  follows  : 

"If  thou  dost  enter  to  the  heart, 
Then  shines  the  truth  in  every  part, 
AU  worldly  vanities  grow  vile. 
And  charity  burns  bright  the  while. 

"  This  love  of  Jesus  is  most  sweet; 
This  laud  of  Jesus  is  most  meet ; 
Thousand  and  thousand  times  more  dear 
Than  tongue  of  man  can  utter  here. 


WILLIAM  LINDSAY  ALEXANDER.  13 

"  Praise  Jesus,  all,  with  one  accord! 
Crave  Jesus,  all,  your  love  and  Lord  1 
Seek  Jesus,  warmly,  all  below, 
And,  seeking,  into  rapture  glow ! 

"Thou  art  of  heavenly  grace  the  Fount; 
Thou  art  the  true  Sun  o'  God's  mount; 
Scatter  the  saddening  cloud  of  night, 
And  povir  upon  us  glorious  light." 


WILLIAM  LINDSAY  ALEXANDER. 
1808 . 

The  Rev.  Dr.  William  Lindsay  Alexander  occupies 
a  position  of  great  eminence  among  the  Congregationalists 
of  Scotland.  He  was  born  Augnst  24, 1808,  at  Leith.  At 
an  early  age  he  was  placed  under  the  tuition  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Jamieson,  at  East  Linton,  by  whom  he  was  fitted  for  a 
collegiate  course.  He  was,  for  three  years,  connected  with 
the  University  of  Edinburgh;  and,  for  two  years,  with  the 
University  of  St.  Andrew's.  Among  his  instructors,  dur- 
ing this  period,  was  Dr.  Thomas  Chalmers. 

In  1828,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  was  appointed  Classical 
Tutor  in  the  Independent  Theological  Academy  at  Black- 
burn, England,— removed  in  1842  to  Manchester,  and  known 
as  the  "Lancashire  Independent  CoUege."  After  a  brief 
pastorate— 1832  to  1835— at  Newington  Chapel,  Liverpool, 
he  accepted  a  caU  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  Argyle  Square 
Chapel,  Edinburgh,  which  position  he  has  most  ably  filled 
for  nearly  forty  years. 

In  1854,  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Theology  and 
Church  History  in  the  Theological  Hall  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Churches  of  Scotland,  as  the  successor  of  tl^ie  Rev. 
Dr.  Wardlaw,  since  whose  death,  in  1853,  he  has  been  the 
acknowledged  leader  of  the  denomination  in  Scotland.  As 
a  preacher,  a  theologian,  a  scholar,  and  an  author,  he  ranks 


14  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

deservedly  among  the  first  men  in  the  land.  In  I86I5  he 
was  appointed  Examiner  in  Philosophy  at  the  University 
of  St.  Andrew's  (whence  came  his  degree  of  D.D.);  and,  in 
1870,  a  member  of  the  Old  Testament  Revision  Com^oany. 

The  publications  by  which  he  has  acquired  his  literary 
fame  are  the  following :  "  The  Congregational  Lecture  for 
1840,  on  the  Connection  and  Harmony  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments"  (1841);  "Lectures  to  Young  Men"  (1842); 
"  Anglo-Catholicism  not  Apostolical,"  in  reply  to  "  Tracts 
for  the  Times"  (1843) ;  "Memoir  of  the  Rev.  J.  Watson" 
(1845) ;  "  Switzerland  and  the  Swiss  Churches "  (1846) ; 
"  Zona,  the  Ancient  British  Church  "  (1852) ;  "  Christ  and 
Christianity  "  (1854) ;  "  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Writings 
of  Ralph  Wardlaw,  D.D."  (1856) ;  "Christian  Thought  and 
Work"  (1862);  "St.  Paul  at  Athens"  (1865);  and  the 
elaborate  Articles  in  the  eighth  edition  of  the  "  Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica,"  on  "Moral  Philosophy,"  "Scripture,"  and 
"Theology."  He  has  made  frequent  contributions  to  the 
Periodicals  of  the  day,  and  was  the  editor  of  the  third 
edition  of  Kitto's  "  Encyclopa3dia  of  Biblical  Literature." 

His  interest  in  Hymnology  is  attested  by  his  "  Augustine 
Hymn  Book  "  (1849),  and  the  contribution  of  several  hymns 
to  the  Scottish  Congregational  Hymn  Book,  and  the  United 
Presbyterian  Hymn  Book.     The  hymn, 

"  Spirit  of  power,  ^nd  truth  and  love," 

is  a  fair  specimen  of  his  poetic  talent.  A  stanza  is  also 
subjoined  from  his  "  Last  Wish."  He  longs  to  hear  of  the 
land  of  rest  beyond  the  sides  : 

"  Oh!  yes,  let  me  hear  of  its  blissful  bowers, 
And  its  trees  of  life,  and  its  fadeless  flowers ; 
Of  the  crystal  streets  and  its  radiant  throng, 
With  then'  harps  of  gold  and  their  endless  song; 
Of  its  glorious  palms  and  its  raiment  white, 
And  its  streamlets  all  lucid  with  living  light ; 
And  its  emerald  plains,  where  the  ransomed  stray, 
'Mid  the  bloom  and  the  bliss  of  a  changeless  day." 


JAMES  ALLEN.  16 

• 

JAMES  ALLEN. 

1734-1804. 

James,  son  of  Oswald  Allen,  was  of  Yorkshire,  England, 
and  was  born  June  24,  1734,  at  Gayle.  He  was  designed 
for  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  was  fitted 
for  college  chiefly  under  the  instruction  of  a  Rev.  Mr.  No- 
ble, at  Scorton  School,  near  Richmond,  Yorkshire.  He 
entered  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  in  1751.  At  the 
expiration  of  a  year,  on  a  visit  to  Yorkshire,  he  was  re- 
ceived into  Mr.  Ingham's  Connection,  and,  full  of  zeal, 
immediately  became  an  itinerant  preacher.  He  is  spoken 
of  by  Charles  Wesley,  in  his  journal,  October  17, 1756,  as 
both  "  modest  and  discreet,"  as  well  as  zealous  and  faith- 
ful in  his  work.  He  and  AYilliam  Batty,  about  this  time, 
were  appointed  the  two  general  elders  of  the  Connection. 

On  a  visit  to  Scotland,  in  1761,  with  Mr.  Batty,  his  views 
were  considerably  modified  by  his  intercourse  with  the 
societies  under  the  care  of  Messrs.  Glas  and  Sandeman. 
Soon  after,  he  left  the  Ingham  Connection,  and  joined  the 
Sandemanians.  "My  eyes,"  he  says,  "were  never  fully 
opened  till  the  latter  end  of  October,  1762.  How  am  I 
now  ashamed  of  my  preaching  and  the  hymn  book  I  was 
concerned  in  printing  !  Almost  every  page  puts  me  to  the 
blush."  Shortly  after,  he  left  the  Sandemanians  also,  and 
gave  up  the  itineracy.  Retiring  to  his  paternal  inheritance 
at  Gayle,  he  built  a  chapel  on  his  own  grounds,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  officiate  statedly  until  his  decease,  October  31, 
1804.  Seventeen  of  his  later  hymns  he  published  at  Gayle, 
with  the  title  of  "  Christian  Songs."  A  second  edition  was 
published  in  1805.  Many  of  his  hymns,  inferior  as  they 
were,  found  a  place  in  the  collections  of  Madan,  Lady 
Huntingdon,  Conyer,  Toplady,  Edwards,  and  the  Moravi- 
ans. 

The  only  one  of  his  hymns  that  is  worthy  of  preserva- 
tion in  its  original  form,  is 

"Glory  to  God  on  high,"  etc. 


16  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHTJECH. 

The  familiar  liymii,  beginning 

"Sweet  the  moments,  rich  in  blessing," 

IS  taken  from  Lady  Huntingdon's  collection  (Revised  edi- 
tion of  1774),  and  owes  its  present  form  to  the  Hon.  and 
Rev.  Walter  Shirley.  It  is  a  reconstruction  of  a  hymn  by 
Allen,  found  in  the  first  edition  of  the  Kendal  Hymn  Book, 
beginning  with : 

"While  my  Jesus  I'm  possessing, 
Great's  the  happiness  I  know." 

The  original  has  six  double  stanzas,  the  last  of  which  is 
as  follows : 

"  May  I  still  enjoy  this  feeling, 

In  all  need  to  Jesus  go : 
Prove  his  wounds  each  day  more  healing, 

And  from  thence  salvation  draw : 
May  I  love  the  Spirit's  unction, 

Filling  me  with  holy  shame ; 
Still  retain  a  close  connection 

With  the  person  of  the  Lamb." 


OSWALD  ALLEN. 
1816 . 

"  Hymtsts  of  the  Chkistian  Life  "  was  published  at 
London,  1862.  The  volume  contains  148  hymns,  by  Oswald 
Allen,  a  descendant,  in  the  fourth  generation,  of  Oswald, 
the  father  of  James  Allen,  noticed  on  a  previous  page. 
John  Allen,  for  more  than  half  a  century,  has  been  a  suc- 
cessful banker  at  Kirkby-Lonsdale,  Westmoreland,  England, 
where  his  son  Oswald  was  born  in  1816.  An  invalid  from 
his  boyhood,  and  a  lifelong  sufferer  from  a  diseased  spine, 
he  was  educated  tenderly  at  home,  and  has,  from  his  child- 


OSWALD  ALLEN.  17 

hood,  been  restricted  to  a  sedentary  life.  Three  years 
(1843-1846)  were  spent,  with  comparative  health,  in  Glas- 
gow, with  fair  business  prospects.  But  the  recurrence  of 
his  constitutional  malady  compelled  him  to  return  to  his 
home  at  Kirkby-Lonsdale.  Since  1848  he  has  held  an  hon- 
orable position  in  his  father's  bank — devoting  himself  in 
the  intervals  of  business,  as  his  strength  has  permitted,  to 
works  of  benevolence  and  mercy  among  the  poor,  the  sick, 
and  the  suffering.  Secluded  at  home,  during  the  severe 
winter  of  1859-1860,  he  found  a  genial  and  cheering  recrea- 
tion in  the  composition  of  his  "  Hjonns  of  the  Christian 
Life."  In  the  preface,  dated  October,  1861,  he  says :  "  Hav- 
ing so  often  felt  and  witnessed  the  soothing  and  elevating 
effect  of  hymns  upon  the  human  heart,  the  author  has  been 
encouraged  to  hope  that  the  following,  which  cheered  his 
own  spirit,  may,  with  the  Divine  blessing,  be  a  comfort  and 
a  consolation  to  others." 

The  piety,  humility,  and  tenderness  of  the  unassuming 
poet  may  be  seen,  somewhat,  in  the  following  dedication  of 
his  book : 

"  To  Thee,  my  God,  my  Saviour,  and  my  Friend, 
I  humbly  offer,  as  I  lowly  bend. 
The  first  faint  warblings  of  my  grateful  soul, — 
Prelude  to  alleluias  soon  to  roll, 
When  with  my  harp  among  the  blest  on  high, 
I  sweep  the  strains  of  heaven-born  harmony — 
Oh !  give  them  power  to  cheer  the  lonely  way 
Of  some  benighted  one,  and  sing  of  day ; 
To  raise  the  fallen — wipe  away  the  teai^ 
And  tell  the  desolate  that  Thou  art  near. 
Oh !  grant  that  they  ambassadors  may  be, 
Their  blessed  privilege  to  speak  of  Thee ; 
To  show  Thy  glory — to  exalt  Thy  jDraise — 
And  hymn  the  wondei's  of  Thy  works  and  ways. 
With  Thee  my  humble  offering  now  I  leave, 
For  Jesu's  sake,  this  offering.  Lord!  receive, — 
Vouchsafe  Thy  blessing  on  these  simple  lays, 
And  Thine  be  all  the  glory  and  the  praise." 


18  THE  POETS  OP  THE  CHURCH. 

HENRY  ALLINE. 

1748-1785. 

Me.  Alline,  the  son  of  William  and  Rebecca  AUine, 
was  born  June  14,  1748,  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  whither  his 
parents  had  removed  from  Boston,  Mass.,  their  native  place. 
In  his  twelfth  year  (1760)  the  family  migrated  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Falmouth,  Nova  Scotia.  The  rudeness 
of  the  country  subjected  them  to  many  privations  and 
hardships,  so  that  Henry  was  debarred  the  privileges  of  a 
school  education,  after  his  removal  from  Rhode  Island. 
His  parents  had  early  attached  themselves  to  what  were 
then  known  as  "  New  Lights,"  and  brought  up  their  seven 
children  in  the  fear  of  God. 

In  his  27th  year,  after  a  season  of  deep  conviction, 
he  was  hopefully  converted,  March  26, 1775,  and,  the  fol- 
lowing year,  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
He  was  ordained,  April  6, 1779,  by  a  Congregational  Coun- 
cil, at  Falmouth,  N.  S.  Owing  to  his  limited  education, 
he  became  a  travelling  rather  than  a  settled  preacher,  and 
exercised  his  ministry  with  marked  success,  in  Falmouth, 
Newport,  Truro,  Windsor,  Horton,  Cornwallis,  Wilmot, 
Annapolis,  Granville,  Sackville,  Liverpool,  Halifax,  Lehave, 
Malegast,  Port  Midway,  and  other  places  m  Nova  Scotia ; 
also  at  St.  John,  Fort  Howe,  Magerville,  and  elsewhere 
in  New  Brunswick.  He  travelled  as  far  west  as  North 
Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  where,  February  2,  1784,  at  the 
house  of  the  Rev.  David  McClure,  pastor  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church  of  that  town,  he  closed  his  earthly  career. 
He  was  fond  of  sacred  poetry,  and  wrote  300  or  more 
hymns,  "  full  of  love  and  zeal  for  Christ,  and  the  salvation 
of  souls." 


AMBROSE.  19 

AMBROSE. 

340-397. 

To  Ambrose,  Bishop  of  Milan,  is  conceded  the  higli  honor 
of  being  the  father  of  sacred  song  in  the  Latin  Church. 
Jerome  complains  of  the  introduction  of  theatrical  songs 
and  melodies  in  the  music  of  the  Church  of  that  period. 
Ambrose  not  only  reformed  the  prevailing  psalmody, 
but  he  introduced  also  the  hymnody  and  antiphonal  sing- 
ing of  the  Greek  into  the  Latin  Church.  The  earliest  Latin 
hymns  are  traced  to  the  fourth  century.  The  best  of  these 
are  attributed  to  Ambrose.  They  are  modelled  aiter  the 
Latin  poets ;  are,  for  the  most  part,  of  four-line  stanzas ; 
having  lines  of  equal  length  in  metrical  form.  To  him  we 
owe  the  six  and  eight  syllable  iambics  which  so  commonly 
prevail  in  English  hymnody. 

The  date  of  his  bii-th  has  not  been  fuUy  determined. 
Some  say  that  it  was  a.d.  333  and  others  a.d.  340  when  he 
was  born  at  Treves  in  Gaul,  his  father  being  at  the  time  the 
praetorian  prefect  of  the  province.  He  was  the  youngest 
of  three  children.  After  his  father's  decease  his  mother 
returned  to  Rome,  where,  with  his  brother  Satyi^us,  and  his 
sister  MarceUina,  he  was  piously  and  liberally  educated. 
Bred  to  the  law  and  excelling  in  his  profession,  he  was 
appointed  by  Anicius  Probus  praetorian  prefect  of  Italy— a 
member  of  his  council.  So  favorably  was  Probus  im- 
pressed with  his  great  abilities  and  moral  worth,  as  to 
give  him  the  appointment,  a.d.  369,  of  consular  f)refect  of 
Liguria,  the  northern  portion  of  Italy,  with  Milan  as  his 
capital.  "  Go,"  said  he,  "  and  govern  Liguria  more  like  a 
bishop  than  a  Judge."  His  administration  confirmed  his 
reputation  as  a  wise,  discreet,  and  righteous  ruler. 

Tlie  times  were  exceedingly  turbulent.  The  old  pagan 
practices  in  that  part  of  Italy  had  not  wholly  been  laid 
aside.  Paganism  was  still  struggling  for  ascendency. 
The  apostate  emperor,  Julian,  had  passed  away  only  seven 
years  before.     Auxentius,  an  Arian,  was  bishop  of  Milan, 


20  THE  POETS  CI"  THE  CHUECH. 

The  populace  were  divided  into  three  contending  factions 
— Athanasian,  Arian,  and  Pagan.  These  rival  parties  at 
the  decease  of  Auxentius,  a.d.  374,  made  desperate  strug- 
gles to  secure  the  position  for  one  of  their  own  adherents. 
At  the  time  appointed  for  the  election  in  the  Church,  so 
furious  was  the  contention  that  the  prefect  Ambrose 
deemed  his  presence  and  remonstrances  necessary  to  quell 
the  tumult.  So  effectually  did  he  control  the  swaying  mul- 
titude, and  such  confidence  had  they  in  his  piety  and  wis- 
dom, that  presently  a  cry  was  made  all  over  the  house, 
"  Ambrose !  Ambrose  ! !  he  is  the  man  for  us  " — and,  in 
spite  of  his  earnest  protest  that  he  was  neither  a  priest 
nor  a  theologian,  he  was  elected  bishop  by  acclamation. 
Yielding  at  length  to  the  popular  will  he  was  baptized 
N"ovember  30th  and  ordained  bishop  December  7,  374. 
Thenceforth  he  devoted  all  his  worldly  resources  and  all 
his  energies  of  body  and  soul  to  the  work  of  purifying  and 
extending  the  Church. 

Ambrose  was  thoroughly  orthodox,  and  was  justly 
claimed  as  an  Athanasian.  Of  course,  the  Arian  party 
took  sides  against  him.  The  queen-mother,  Justina,  was 
an  Arian,  and  demanded  one  of  the  churches  of  Milan  for 
the  use  of  that  sect.  Ambrose  refused,  and  a  long  and  vio- 
lent struggle  ensued.  At  length,  when  the  bishop  was  cele- 
brating divine  worship,  guards  were  set  by  the  civil  and 
military  authorities  about  the  church.  None  were  sufi'ered 
to  leave.  All  night  they  were  shut  up  in  the  sanctuary. 
"  Then  it  was  instituted,"  says  Augustine,  his  pupil,  "  that, 
after  the  manner  of  the  Eastern  churches,  hymns  and 
psalms  should  be  sung,  lest  the  people  should  wax  faint 
through  the  tediousness  of  sorrow, — and  from  that  day  to 
this  the  custom  is  retained, — divers  (yea,  almost  all)  thy 
congregations  throughout  other  parts  of  the  world  follow- 
ing herein." 

The  bishop  triumphed,  and  Arianism  was  overcome. 
To  keep  up  the  custom  thus  inaugurated,  Ambrose  wrote 
his  stirring  hymns.  They  were  taken  up  by  the  people 
as  battle-cries,  and  became  immensely  popular.     Their  in- 


AMBROSE.  21 

fluence  was  mighty.  "  How  did  I  weep,"  says  Augustine^ 
"through,  thy  hymns  and  canticles,  touched  to  the  quick 
by  the  voices  of  thy  sweet-attuned  church !  The  voices 
sank  into  mine  ears,  and  the  truth  distilled  into  my  heart, 
whence  the  affections  of  my  devotions  overflowed,  tears  ran 
down,  and  happy  was  I  therein."  Again:  "When  I  re- 
member the  tears  I  shed  in  the  psalmody  of  thy  church,  in 
the  beginning  of  my  recovered  faith,  and  how  at  this  time 
I  am  moved— not  with  the  singing,  but  with  the  things 
sung,  when  they  are  sung  with  a  clear  voice  and  modula- 
tion most  suitable,  I  acknowledge  the  great  use  of  this 
institution." 

Ambrose  himself,  in  reply  to  objectors,  said :  "  A  grand 
thing  is  that  singing,  and  nothing  can  stand  before  it. 
For  what  can  be  more  telling  than  that  confession  of  the 
Trinity  which  a  whole  pox)ulation  utters  day  by  day  ?  For 
all  are  eager  to  proclaim  their  faith,  and  in  measured  strains 
have  learned  to  confess  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost." 

The  number  of  "  Ambrosian  Hymns,"  according  to  Dan- 
iel, is  ninety-two ;  but  many  of  these  were  doubtless  of  a 
later  date,  though  constructed  after  the  model  of  Ambrose. 
Not  more  than  twelve  of  the  whole  number  have  been  gen- 
erally conceded  to  be  from  his  pen. 

The  authorship  of  that  wonderfully  popular  chant, 

"  Te  Deum  laudamus,  te  Dominimi  confitemur,"  etc., 

has  been  very  fully  and  ably  discussed  by  Daniel,  ii.  280- 
294.  Though  attributed  to  Ambrose,  it  is  more  properly 
classified  as  merely  Ambrosian.  Parts  of  it  appear  to  have 
been  in  use  among  the  Greeks  at  an  early  day.  Ambrose 
may  have  given  it  something  of  its  present  shape,  and  later 
Latin  writers  may  have  perfected  it.  Of  this  splendid  out- 
burst of  praise,  Mrs.  Charles,  in  her  "Christian  Life  in 
Song,"  thus  writes : 

"  It  is  at  once  a  hymn,  a  creed,  and  a  prayer — or  rather  it 
is  a  creed  taking  wing  and  soaring  heavenward  ;  it  is  faith 
seized  with  a  sudden  joy  as  she  counts  her  treasures  and 
laying  them  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  in  a  song ;  it  is  the  incense 


22  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUKCH. 

of  prayer  rising  so  near  tlie  rainbow  round  the  tlirone  as  to 
catch  its  light  and  become  radiant  as  well  as  fragrant — a 
cloud  of  incense  illumined  with  a  cloud  of  glory." 

Daniel  in  the  21st  verse  has  "  gloria  munevan,"  instead 
of  "  in  gloria  numerari,"  as  in  the  received  versions.  The 
former  is  undoubtedly  the  true  rendering,  and  is,  by  far, 
more  expressive. 

Ambrose  abounded  in  labors,  not  only  in  the  improve- 
ment of  public  worship,  but  in  defence  of  the  truth  and 
the  enlargement  of  the  Church.  His  published  "  Works  " 
j^re  numerous.  Having  overcome  all  opposition  and  estab- 
lished himself  firmly  in  the  affections  of  his  people  he  fell 
asleep  April  3,  a.d.  397. 


ANGELUS  SILESIUS. 

1624-1677. 
[See"JolmSclieffler."] 


JOSEPH  ANSTICE. 
1808-1836. 

A  VOLUME  of  "Hymns  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Anstice, 
M.A.,"  London,  1836,  was  privately  printed  by  his  widow. 
It  contains  fifty-four  hymns. 

He  was  the  second  son  of  William  Anstice,  Esq.,  and  was 
bom  in  Shropshire  in  1808.  In  his  fourteenth  year  he  en- 
tered Westminster  School,  was  chosen  a  king's  scholar,  and, 
at  the  close  of  his  course,  elected  to  Christ  Church  College, 
Oxford.  In  his  collegiate  course  he  gained  the  two  Eng- 
lish prizes.  He  graduated  B.A.  as  a  double  first-class 
scholar  early  in  1831.  Though  but  in  his  twenty -third 
year  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Classical  Literature, 


HAEEIET  AUBER.  23 

King's  College,  London,  and  delivered  Ms  first  lecture  Oc- 
tober 17, 1831.  In  tlie  summer  of  1832  lie  married  Eliza- 
beth Spencer  Ruscombe,  eldest  daughter  of  Joseph  Rus- 
combe  Poole,  Esq.,  of  Bridgewater.  Three  years  later  he 
was  compelled  by  the  failure  of  his  health  to  resign  his 
professorship.  He  then  removed  to  Torquay,  where,  after 
a  continual  decline,  he  departed  this  life  February  29, 1836, 
in  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

His  prize  poem  delivered  at  Oxford,  June  18, 1828,  on 
"  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion,"  was  published  in  1828,  and  the 
following  year  his  English  prize  essay  on  "  The  Influence 
of  the  Roman  Conquest  upon  Literature  and  the  Arts  at 
Rome."  His  "Introductory  Lecture"  at  King's  College 
was  published  in  1831,  and  in  1832  his  "  Selections  from 
the  Choice  Poetry  of  the  Greek  Dramatic  Writers,  trans- 
lated into  English  Verse." 

His  hymns  "  were  all  dictated  to  his  wife  during  the  last 
few  weeks  of  his  life,  and  were  composed  just  at  the  period 
of  the  day  (the  afternoon)  when  he  most  felt  the  oppression 
of  his  illness — all  his  brighter  morning  hours  being  given 
to  pupils  up  to  the  very  day  of  his  death."  They  are  not 
unworthy  of  the  pen  of  John  Keble,  to  whom  several  of 
them  have  been  erroneously  ascribed. 


HARRIET  AUBER. 

1773-1862. 

In  1829  "The  Spirit  of  the  Psalms;  or,  a  Compressed 
Version  of  Select  Portions  of  the  Psalms  of  David "  was 
published  at  London  anonymously.  Several  of  these 
Psalms  were  transferred  to  the  "  Church  Psalmody,"  Bos- 
ton, 1831,  and  other  collections,  where  they  were  credited 
to  the  "  Spirit  of  the  Psalms."  In  1834  Mr.  Lyte's  book  ap- 
peared, also  entitled  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Psalms."  Led  sim- 
ply by  the  title,  and  not  aware  that  the  two  books  were 


24  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

entirely  different,  or  tliat  there  were  two  books  of  tlie  same 
name,  subsequent  compilers  credited  these  hymns  to  Rev. 
Henry  Frances  Lyte. 

The  earlier  work  was  the  production  of  Miss  Harriet  Au- 
ber.  She  was  the  daughter  of  James  Auber,  of  Hackney, 
and  was  born  October  4, 1773.  The  family  was  of  French 
Protestant  extraction,  and,  doubtless,  of  the  same  lineage 
with  the  eminent  musical  composer,  Daniel  Frangois  Esprit 
Auber  [1784-1871].  In  a  quiet  and  secluded  home — first  at 
Broxbourne,  and  then  at  Hoddesdon,  Hertfordshire,  with 
her  worthy  sisters,  and  latterly  with  a  greatly  endeared 
friend.  Miss  Mary  Jane  McKenzie,  a  literary  lady, — she 
spent  the  most  of  her  days  on  earth.  With  a  fine  liter 
ary  taste,  she  occupied  much  of  her  time  in  poetic  compo- 
sition— the  most  of  which  remains  unpublished.  During 
a  long  and  useful  life  she  greatly  endeared  herself  to  a 
large  circle  of  relatives  and  friends.  She  went  down  to  the 
"grave  in  a  full  age,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in 
his  season,"  dying  in  great  peace  January  20,  1862,  in 
the  eighty-ninth  year  of  her  age,  at  her  residence  in  Hod- 
desdon. 

The  only  marked  incident  of  her  quiet  life  was  the  pub- 
lication in  her  fifty-sixth  year  of  her  book  already  noticed. 
It  contains  a  few  selections  from  well-known  authors,  to 
some  of  which  the  names  are  attached ;  the  larger  part  of 
the  pieces,  however,  are  from  her  own  pen. 

In  one  of  her  hymns  she  thus  speaks  of  the  Holy  Spirit : 

"  He  came  in  semblance  of  a  dove, 
With  sheltering  wings  outspread, 
The  holy  balm  of  peace  and  love 
On  earth  to  shed. 

"  He  came  sweet  influence  to  impart — 
A  gracious,  willing  guest — 
Wliere  he  can  find  one  humble  heart 
Wherein  to  rest. 

"  And  his  that  gentle  voice  we  hear 
Soft  as  the  breath  of  even; 


JOHN  AUSTIN.  25 

That  checks  each  thought,  that  cahns  each  fear, 
And  speaks  of  heaven, 

**  And  every  virtue  we  possess, 
And  every  conquest  won, 
And  every  thought  of  holiness 
Are  his  alone." 


JOHN  AUSTIN. 
1613-1669. 

John  Austin  was  of  Norfolkshire,  England.  Bom  at 
Walpole  in  1613,  lie  was  fitted  for  college  at  Sleeford,  and, 
in  1631,  was  admitted  a  pensioner  of  St.  John's  College, 
Cambridge.  Here  lie  continued  to  reside  nntil  1640,  at 
whicli  time  or  somewhat  earlier  he  became  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic. Leaving  the  nniversity  in  consequence,  he  repaired  to 
London  and  pursued  the  study  of  law  at  Lincoln's  Inn. 
The  times  were  turbulent,  especially  for  Papists,  making 
it  difl&cult  for  him  to  practice  law  successfully.  For  a  time 
he  was  employed  as  tutor  in  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Fowler,  of 
Staffordshire. 

Having  succeeded  by  the  death  of  a  relative  to  a  consid- 
erable estate,  he  returned  in  1650  to  London,  and  estab- 
lished himself  as  a  private  gentleman  in  Bow  St.,  Covent 
Garden.  Dodd,  in  his  "Church  History,"  says:  "Mr. 
Austin  was  a  gentleman  of  singular  parts  and  accomplish- 
ments, and  so  great  a  master  of  the  English  tongue,  that 
his  style  continues  [1742]  to  be  a  pattern  for  politeness. 
His  time  was  wholly  spent  in  books  and  learned  conversa- 
tion ;  having  the  advantage  of  several  ingenious  persons' 
familiarity,  who  made  a  kind  of  junto  in  the  way  of  learn- 
ing, ....  all  men  of  great  parts  and  erudition,  who  were 
assistants  to  one  another  in  their  writings." 

He  wrote  much  under  an  assumed  name  and  at  times  in 
a  false  guise.     The  first  part  of  his  "  Christian  Moderator ; 


26  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

or,  Persecution  for  Religion  condemned  by  the  Light  of 
iN'atnre,  Law  of  God,  Evidence  of  onr  own  Principles" 
appeared  as  the  work  of  "  William  Birchley,"  an  "  Inde- 
pendent," in  1651 ;  the  second  part  followed  in  1652,  and 
a  third  part  in  1653.  Under  the  same  pseudonyme  he  pub- 
lished in  1651  "  The  Oath  of  Abjuration  Arraigned."  "  Re- 
flections upon  the  Oaths  of  Supremacy  and  Allegiance  "  was 
printed  in  1661,  "Booker  Rebuked"  in  1665,  and,  in  1668, 
"  Devotions  in  the  Antient  Way  of  Offices  ;  containing  Ex- 
ercises for  Every  Day  in  the  Week  and  Every  Holiday  in  the 
Year. "  A  second  edition  of  this  work  was  published  in  1672 
and  a  third  in  1675.  He  was  the  author  also  of  "  A  Letter 
from  a  Cavalier  in  Yorkshire  to  a  Friend,  written  during  the 
Civil  War,"  also  of  "  A  Punctual  Answer  to  Dr.  John  Tillot- 
son's  Book  called  '  The  Rule  of  Faith,' "  "  The  Four  Gos- 
pels in  One,"  and  several  anonymous  pamphlets  against  the 
Assembly  of  Divines  at  Westminster. 

He  died  at  his  house  in  Bow  St.,  Covent  Garden,  in  the 
summer  of  1669  ;  and,  according  to  Anthony  Wood,  "  was 
buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Paul  there."  The  editor  of 
one  of  the  issues  of  his  "  Devotions  "  says  :  "  He  sweetened 
a  tedious  sickness  by  a  perpetual  exercise  of  Divine  love, 
and  welcomed  his  approaching  dissolution  with  incredible 
transports  of  joy."  "  He  gave  up  the  ghost  with  these  re- 
markable words  :  '  Now,  heartily  for  heaven,  through  Je- 
sus Christ.'" 

His  "Devotions,"  etc.,  contain  forty-three  hymns,  some 
of  them  of  great  excellence. 

A  beautiful  specimen  of  his  style  and  spirit  is  given  in  a 
part  of  one  of  his  hymns  as  follows : 

"  My  God !  liad  I  my  breath  from  thee — 
This  power  to  speak  and  sing  ? 
And  shall  my  voice,  and  shall  my  song, 
Praise  any  but  their  King  ? 

"  My  God!  had  I  my  soul  from  thee — 
This  power  to  judge  and  choose  ? 
And  shall  my  brain,  and  shall  my  will, 
Their  best  to  thee  refuse  ? 


THOMAS  WILLIAM  B.  AVELING.  27 

"  Alas  !  not  this  alone,  or  that, 
Hast  thou  bestowed  on  me  ; 
But  aU  I  have,  and  all  I  hope, 
I  have  and  hope  from  thee. 

"  And  more  I  have,  and  more  I  hope 
Than  I  can  speak  or  think, — 
Thy  blessings  first  refresh,  then  fill, 
Then  overflow  the  brink." 


THOMAS  WILLIAM  B.  AVELmG. 

1815 . 

Mr.  Avelestg  became  personally  known  to  the  American 
people  as  one  of  the  delegates  from  Great  Britain  to  the 
Conference  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  that  met  in  New 
York,  October,  1873.  On  October  11, 1838,  he  became  the 
pastor  of  the  Independent  Chapel  at  Kingsland,  a  suburb 
of  London.  During  the  first  two  years  of  his  pastorate  he 
was  the  colleague  of  the  venerable  John  Campbell  [1766- 
1840],  the  noted  African  traveller. 

Mr.  Aveling  was  born  at  Castletown,  Isle  of  Man,  May  11, 
1815.  He  obtained  his  early  training  in  the  school  of  Mr. 
James  Smith  at  Wisbeach,  Cambridgeshire,  at  which  place 
also,  though  born  in  the  Church  of  England,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Church.  In  1834,  with  a  view 
to  the  ministry,  he  entered  Highbury  College,  London. 
He  graduated  with  honor  in  June,  1838,  and  immediately 
afterward  was  called  to  Kingsland  Chapel. 

In  addition  to  his  pulpit  labors  and  pastoral  duties,  Mr. 
Aveling  has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  religious 
press.  In  his  youth  he  was  addicted  to  versification.  At 
the  age  of  nineteen  [1834]  he  published  a  small  volume  of 
poems.  He  edited  for  five  years  [1848-1853]  the  Jewish 
Herald^  a  religious  monthly ;  also  for  a  considerable  time 
the  Missionary  Soumnir,  to  both  of  which  he  contributed 
frequently.     He  is  the  author  of  several  interesting  and 


28  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

useful  miscellaneous  volumes,  and  of  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  hymns — the  greater  part  of  which  were  wiitt^n  on 
the  occasion  of  the  several  anniversaries  of  his  Sunday- 
School,  or  in  connection  with  his  annual  sermons  to  the 
young  people  of  his  charge.     The  hymn, 

"Hail !  thou  God  of  Grace  and  Glory," 

was  written  for  the  jubilee  of  his  church,  June  16,  1844. 
Several  of  his  hymns  have  appeared  in  the  British  "  Sunday- 
School  Union  Hymn-Book,"  in  the  London  Evangelical 
Magazine,  and  the  Sunday  at  Home.  The  stanzas  that 
follow,  taken  from  a  hymn  published  in  the  Evangelical 
Magazine,  are  a  fair  specimen  of  his  style : 

*'  On,  toward  Zion,  on  ! 

Glory  awaits  you  there  ; — 
Crowns  for  the  victor's  brow. 

Robes  that  the  conquerors  wear, 
Thrones  for  the  sons  of  might. 

Harps  for  the  sons  of  song. 
Welcomes  from  Heaven's  own  King, 

Greetings  from  Heaven's  bright  throng. 

"  Be  fearless  in  the  fight. 

Look  'round  you ;  myriads  stand 
Enrobed  in  glorious  light — 

Earth's  star-crowned  victor  band. 
They  point  you  to  the  prize 

By  true  hearts  surely  won  : 
They  urge  you  to  advance — 

On  to  the  field,  then,  on  I " 


LEONARD  BACON". 

1802-1881. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Bacon  was  the  son  of  a  missionary,  the 
Rev.  David  Bacon,  who,  in  1800,  was  appointed  by  the 
Missionary  Society  of  Connecticut  to  labor  among  the  In- 


LEONAED  BACON.  29 

dians  on  the  soutli  and  west  of  Lake  Erie.  In  order  to 
learn  the  language  of  the  savages  Mr.  Bacon  and  his  young 
wife  located  themselves  at  Detroit,  then  a  frontier  settle- 
ment, where  their  son  Leonard  was  born  February  19, 
1802.  The  father  left  the  service  of  the  Missionary  Soci- 
ety in  1805,  and  subsequently  resided  in  Hudson  and  Tall- 
madge,  Ohio,  of  which  latter  place  he  was  the  first  settler. 
He  died  in  1817,  leaving  three  sons  and  four  daughters. 

In  1812  Leonard  was  sent  to  reside  with  an  uncle  at  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  where  he  was  fitted  for  college.  He  entered 
the  Sophomore  Class  of  Yale  College  in  1817,  and  though 
with  one  exception  the  youngest  of  his  class,  he  ranked 
high  among  his  fellows  as  a  scholar  and  writer.  He  grad- 
uated in  1820  and  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  of  An- 
dover,  Mass. ,  the  same  year.  He  was  ordained  at  Wind- 
sor, Conn.,  to  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  September  28, 1824, 
and  the  next  Sabbath  began  to  preach  as  a  candidate  for 
settlement  in  the  Centre  Church,  IN'ew  Haven.  A  call  was 
extended  to  him,  and  he  was  installed  as  the  successor  of 
the  Kev.  Nathaniel  W.  Taylor,  D.D.,  March  9,  1825,  a 
youth  of  only  twenty-three  years.  This  most  infiuential 
position  he  occupied  for  forty  years  with  eminent  ability 
and  marked  efiiciency.  In  1866  he  was  appointed  Acting 
Professor  of  Revealed  Theology  and  Lecturer  on  Church 
Polity  and  American  Church  History  in  the  Theological 
Department  of  Yale  College.  The  latter  position  he  con- 
tinued to  fill  till  his  death,  Dec.  24,  1881. 

Dr.  Bacon  was  one  of  the  most  prolific  writers  of  his  day. 
The  leading  article  of  the  March  number  of  The  Christian 
Spectator  (a  New  Haven  monthly)  for  1822,  "  On  the  Pecu- 
liar Characteristics  of  the  Benevolent  Efforts  of  our  Age," 
was  from  his  pen.  From  that  date  he  was  almost  con- 
stantly before  the  public.  Every  subsequent  volume  of 
the  monthly,  and  every  volume  of  the  quarterly  Christian 
Spectator,  as  well  as  of  The  New-Englander,  contained 
some  article  (one  or  more)  from  his  pen.  He  was  also  for 
some  years  one  of  the  editors  of  the  New  TorJc  Independ- 
ent.    He  was  the  author  of  a  large  number  of  essays,  ser- 


30  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

mons,  and  lectures  in  pamphlet  form.  Not  content  witli 
this  M^onderful  fecundity,  he  found  time  also  for  the  pub- 
lication of  several  volumes,  many  of  them  requiring  a  large 
amount  of  research  and  care  in  their  preparation. 

In  1833  he  compiled  "  A  Supplement  to  Dwight's  Psalms 
and  Hymns."    The  hymn  beginning, 

"  Wake  the  song  of  jubilee," 

is  found  in  this  compilation. 

"  Hail !  tranquil  hour  of  closing  day," 

IS  from  the  "Psalms  and  Hymns  for  Christian  Use  and 
Worship,  prepared  and  set  forth  by  the  General  Associa- 
tion of  Connecticut "  (1846),  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
supervising  editors.  To  this  collection  he  contributed 
eight  other  hymns,  three  of  which  had  also  appeared  in 
1833.  The  following  stanzas  are  from  one  of  his  hymna 
on  "  The  Missionary's  Death  "  : 

"  Weep  not  for  the  saint  that  ascends 
To  partake  of  the  joys  of  the  sky; 
Weep  not  for  the  seraph  that  bends 
With  the  worshiping  chorus  on  high; 

"  Weep  not  for  the  spirit  now  crowned 
With  the  garland  to  martyrdom  given ; 
Oh  !  weep  not  for  him ;  he  has  found 
His  reward  and  his  refuge  in  heaven. 

"  But  weep  for  their  sorrows,  who  stand 
And  lament  o'er  the  dead  by  his  grave, - 
Who  sigh  when  they  muse  on  the  land 
Of  then-  home,  far  away  o'er  the  wave ; — 

**  And  weep  for  the  nations  that  dwell 

Where  the  light  of  the  truth  never  shone, 
Where  anthems  of  praise  never  swell, 
And  the  love  of  the  Lamb  is  unknown." 


SIR  HENRY  WILLIA^IS  BAKER,  BART.  31 

SIR  HENRY  WILLIAMS  BAKER,  BART. 

1821-1877. 

The  volume  entitled  "  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modem,  for 
Use  in  the  Services  of  tlie  Church,"  has  had  an  unprece- 
dented popularity.  No  other  compilation  can  compare 
with  it  m  the  rapidity  and  extent  of  its  circulation.  It 
appeared  in  1861  with  273  hymns,  and  in  1868  with  an  ap- 
pendix containing  113  additional  hymns.  Fourteen  "  Sup- 
plementary Hymns "  have  since  been  added,  making  the 
whole  number  400.  It  has  been  published  in  a  great  vari- 
ety of  forms  and  sizes,  with  and  mthout  tunes,  both  in 
England  and  America.  It  is  claimed  that  "nearly  five- 
million  copies  have  been  sold."  Of  this  Hymnal  the  Rev. 
Sir  Henry  WiUiams  Baker,  Bart.,  was  "  one  of  the  editors-in- 
chief." 

He  was  the  son  of  Rear- Admiral  Sir  Henry  Lorraine  Ba- 
ker, whose  father.  Sir  Robert  Baker,  the  youngest  son  of 
John  Baker,  M.D.,  of  Richmond,  Surrey,  was  created  by 
George  III.,  April  30, 1796,  a  baronet.  The  family  seat  is 
Upper  Dunstable  House,  Richmond,  on  the  Surrey  side  of 
the  Thames.  Sir  Henry  was  the  third  baronet,  and  was  born 
at  London  May  27,  1821.  His  mother  was  a  daughter  of 
William  Williams,  Esq.,  from  whom  he  derived  his  second 
name.  He  was  educated  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
and  took  his  degree  of  B.A.  in  1844.  Having  been  de- 
signed for  the  Church,  he  was  the  same  year  ordained 
deacon,  and  December  20, 1846,  he  was  ordained  priest  by 
the  Bishop  of  Rochester  at  Westminster.  He  was  pre- 
ferred in  1851  to  the  vicarage  of  Monkland  ;  succeeded  to 
the  baronetcy  in  1859  ;  and  died,  February  11, 1877. 

Sir  Henry  distinguished  himself  principally  in  the  line 
of  hymnology.  Some  of  his  hymns  were  written  as  early 
as  1852.  To  "Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern,"  he  con- 
tributed twelve  original  hymns  and  at  least  ten  transla- 
tions.    He  developed  not  only  peculiar  facility  in  ver- 


32  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

sification,  but  remarkable  skill  in  adapting  his  compilation 
to  tlie  prevailing  tastes  of  the  Church  of  England.  His 
advanced  churchmanship  is  everywhere  apparent,  espe- 
cially in  his  hymn  on  Baptism : 

"  'Tis  done;  that  new  and  heavenly  birth 
Which  re-creates  the  sons  of  earth, 
And  cleanses  from  the  guilt  of  sin 
The  sovils  whom  Jesus  died  to  win." 

Of  his  translations,  four  are  of  permanent  value : 
"  On  this  day,  the  first  of  days,"  etc., 

is  a  translation  of 

"  Die  parente  temporum,"  etc., 

from  the  Le  Mans  Breviary. 

"  Blessed  Trinity  1  from  mortal  sight,"  etc., 

is  a  successful  version  of 

"  O  luce,  quae  tua  lates,"  etc., 

a  hymn  in  the  Paris  Breviary,  credited  to  Santolius  Mag- 
lorianus.     Another  Latin  hymn  by  the  same  author, 

*'  Pix)me  vocem,  mens  canoram,"  etc., 

was  versified  by  Chandler  and  reconstructed  by  Sir  Henry 
in  the  form  now  so  extensively  in  use, 

"  Now,  my  soul!  thy  voice  upraising,"  etc. 
"  Jesus!  grant  me  this,  I  pray,"  etc., 

is  a  version  of  a  Latin  hymn  of  four  stanzas, 
**  Dignare  me,  0  Jesu!  rogo  te,"  etc., 

taken  from  one  of  the  later  French  missals,  and  of  uncer- 
tain origin. 
Among  the  earliest  of  his  poetical  essays  is  the  hymn, 

"  Oh !  what,  if  we  are  Christ's,"  etc. 


Sm  HENEY  WILLIAMS  BAXER,  BART.  33 

It  was  written  in  1852,  and  celebrates  the  faith  of  the  mar- 
tyrs. 

"  Oh,  praise  our  God  to-day,"  etc., 

"  There  is  a  blessed  home,"  etc., 

were  written  in  1852. 

Sir  Henry  was  also  the  author  of  "  Daily  Prayers,  for  the 
Use  of  those  who  have  to  Work  Hard,"  a  "Daily  Text- 
Book,"  also  for  hard  workers,  and  a  few  short  tracts.  His 
version  of  the  Twenty-third  Psalm  is  subjoined  : 

"  The  King  of  love  my  Shepherd  is, 
Whose  goodness  f aileth  never ; 
I  nothing  lack  if  I  am  his 
And  he  is  mine  forever. 

"  Where  streams  of  living  water  flow 
My  ransomed  soul  he  leadeth, 
And,  where  the  verdant  pastures  grow, 
With  food  celestial  feedeth. 

"  Perverse  and  foolish  oft  I  strayed. 
But  yet  in  love  he  sought  me. 
And  on  his  shoulder  gently  laid. 
And  home,  rejoicing,  brought  me. 

"  In  death's  dark  vale  I  fear  no  ill 
With  thee,  dear  Lord,  beside  me ; 
Thy  rod  and  staff  my  comfort  still, 
Thy  cross  before  to  guide  me. 

"  Thou  spread'st  a  table  in  my  sight. 
Thy  unction  grace  bestoweth. 
And,  oh !  what  transport  of  delight 
From  thy  pure  chalice  floweth. 

"  And  so  through  all  the  length  of  days 
Thy  goodness  f aileth  never ; 
Good  Shepherd !  may  I  sing  thy  praise 
Within  thy  house  forever." 


34  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

JOHN  BAKEWELL. 

1721-1819. 

Me.  John  Bake  well,  a  native  of  Brailsford,  DerbysMre, 
England,  was  bom  in  1721,  and  we  are  told  it  was  in  1739, 
chiefly  by  the  reading  of  Boston's  "  Fourfold  State,"  that 
he  was  brought  from  darkness  into  light.  Four  years  af- 
terward (1744)  he  ventured  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  his  own 
neighbors,  with  much  obloquy,  and  yet  with  marked  suc- 
cess. Shortly  after,  he  removed  to  London,  where  he  soon 
became  acquainted  \vith  the  Messrs.  Wesley,  was  received 
into  their  Connection,  and  recognized  as  a  local  preacher. 
He  occupied  himself  principally  as  a  teacher,  and  for  many 
years  was  the  principal  of  Greenwich  Royal  Park  Acad- 
emy. In  his  humble  way  he  delighted  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel, especially  to  the  poor  and  outcast.  He  exercised  his 
ministry  successively  in  Derbyshire,  in  London,  in  Bed- 
ford, in  Kent,  and  in  Staffordshire.  In  1815  he  removed 
from  Greenwich  to  Lewisham,  a  neighboring  village,  where, 
at  the  age  of  ninety-eight  years,  he  died  March  18, 1819,  in 
great  peace  and  in  the  blissful  assurance  of  a  happy  immor- 
tality. Those  who  knew  him  best  esteemed  him  as  a  man 
of  eminent  piety  and  humility. 

Very  little  is  known  of  his  writings.  Besides  a  few 
hymns  of  inferior  merit,  and  a  letter  that  appeared  in  the 
July  number  of  the  Methodist  Magazine  for  1816,  nothing 
has  survived  but  the  very  poiDular  hymn, 

*' Hail!  thou  once  despised  Jesus,"  etc. 

It  has  had  a  very  wide  circulation.  The  original  contains 
five  double  stanzas,  the  last  of  which  seldom  appears  and  is 
here  supplied : 

"  Soon  we  shall,  with  those  in  glory, 
His  transcendent  grace  relate  ; 
Gladly  sing  th'  amazing  story 
Of  liis  dying  love  so  gi  eat. 


CHARITIE  LEES  [SMITH]  BANCROFT.  35 

In  that  blessed  contemplation 

We  forevermore  shall  dwell, 
Crowned  with  bliss  and  consolation, 

Such  as  none  below  can  tell." 


CHAKITIE  LEES  [SMITH]  BANCROFT. 
1841 . 

Mrs.  Bancroft  is  a  native  of  Ireland.  Her  father,  the 
Eev.  Sidney  Smith,  D.D.,  Rector  of  Drumragh,  County 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  gifted 
essayist  and  humorist,  the  Prebend  of  St.  Paul,  London. 
She  was  born  June  21,  1841,  at  Bloomfield,  Merrion,  County 
Dublin.  Her  talent  for  poetic  composition  was  developed 
at  an  early  period  of  her  life.  She  has  written  consider- 
ably for  several  serial  publications  and  contributed  very 
pleasing  hymns  to  Ryle's  "Spiritual  Songs,"  "Times  of 
Refreshing,"  and  Rogers'  "  Lyra  Britannica  "  (1866). 

The  following  stanzas  are  from  a  hymn,  on  "Christ 
Mighty  to  Save,"  contributed  in  1866  to  "Lyra  Britan- 
nica " : 

"  The  King  of  glory  standeth 

Beside  that  heart  of  sin ; 
His  mighty  voice  coramandeth 

The  raging  waves  within ; 
The  floods  of  deepest  anguish 

Roll  backward  at  his  will, 
As  o'er  the  storm  ariseth 

His  mandate — 'Peace!  be  still.' 

"  At  times,  with  sudden  glory, 

He  speaks,  and  all  is  done ! 
Without  one  stroke  of  battle 

The  victory  is  won. 
While  we,  with  joy  beholding. 

Can  scarce  believe  it  true. 
That  e'en  our  kingly  Jesus 

Can  form  such  hearts  anew. 


36  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

"Oil !  Christ,  his  love  is  mighty! 

Long  suffering  is  his  grace ! 
And  glorious  is  the  splendor 

That  beameth  from  his  face  I 
Our  hearts  up-leap  in  gladness 

When  we  behold  that  love, 
As  we  go  singing  onward 

To  dwell  with  him  above." 


A]^NA  LiETITIA  [AIKIN]  BAKBAULD. 
1743-1825. 

Mrs.  Barbauld  was  the  only  daughter  and  eldest  child 
of  the  Rev.  John  Aikin,  LL.D.,  the  eldest  son  of  John 
Aikin,  a  Unen-draper  of  London.  The  family  were  from 
Kirkcudbright,  Scotland.  At  an  early  age  the  son  was  sent 
(1723)  from  London  to  the  Dissenting  Academy  at  Kib- 
worth-Harcourt,  Leicestershire,  England.  The  Rev.  John 
Jennings,  who  had  founded  the  Academy,  died  the  same 
year,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  pupil,  the  Rev.  PhUip 
Doddridge.  From  Kibworth,  Aikin  went  to  the  University 
of  Aberdeen,  where  he  completed  his  education,  and  whence 
in  after  life  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  On 
his  return  to  England  he  settled  at  Market-Harborough, 
Leicestershire.  Miss  Jane  Jennings,  the  only  daughter  of 
liis  former  teacher,  became  his  wife.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
she  had  declined  the  hand  of  Doddridge.  Her  mother, 
Anna  Lsetitia  Wingate,  was  the  granddaughter  of  Sir  Ar- 
thur Annesley,  the  first  Earl  of  Anglesey  and  Lord  Privy 
Seal  under  Charles  11.  Mr.  Aikin  rras  speedily  compelled, 
by  an  affection  of  the  chest  occasioned  by  a  fall,  to  resign 
his  charge.  He  then  returned  to  Kibworth  and  revived 
the  Academy,  which  he  conducted  with  success  for  several 
years. 

Here  Anna  Lsetitia,  his  daughter,  was  born  June  20, 1743, 


ANNA  L^TITIA  [AIEIN]  BARBAULD.  37 

where  also  tlie  first  fourteen  years  of  lier  life  were  spent. 
She  was  a  precocious  child,  with  a  wonderful  aptitude  f oi 
literature.  Her  education  was  conducted  by  her  father. 
"  I  have  seen,"  she  said  at  a  later  day,  "  a  good  deal  of  the 
education  of  boys,  but  in  a  girls'  school  I  should  be  quite  a 
novice.  I  never  was  at  one  myself.  I  have  not  even  the 
advantage  of  sisters  ;  indeed,  for  the  early  part  of  my  life, 
I  conversed  little  with  my  own  sex." 

Mr.  Aikin  in  June,  1757,  removed  to  Warrington-on-the- 
Mersey,  and  there,  with  Dr.  John  Taylor,  of  Norwich,  and 
Mr.  John  Hiot,  of  Lancaster  (all  of  them  Arians),  he  estab- 
lished a  theological  school.  Dr.  Joseph  Priestley,  Dr.  AYill- 
iam  Enfield,  and  Gilbert  Wakefield  subsequently  were  as- 
sociated with  him  as  teachers.  The  place  wa^  famed  for  its 
literary  society,  of  which  Miss  Aildn  was  regarded  as  one 
of  the  principal  ornaments.  She  had  been  trained  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics,  and  in  the  ex- 
act sciences.  Her  personal  attractions  were  remarkable. 
"  Her  person  was  slender,  her  complexion  exquisitely  fair 
with  the  bloom  of  perfect  health,  her  features  regular  and 
elegant,  and  her  dark  blue  eyes  beamed  with  the  light  of 
wit  and  fancy."    She  had  a  host  of  admirers  and  suitors. 

Her  poetic  talent  had  been  early  developed.  Five  of  her 
hymns  were  contributed  to  Dr.  Enfield's  "Hymns  for  Pub- 
lic Worship,"  Warring-ton,  1772.  A  volume  of  her  "  Poems  " 
was  published  in  1773,  which  ran  through  four  editions  in 
a  year.  At  the  close  of  the  same  year  appeared  "  Miscella- 
neous Pieces  in  Prose  by  J.  and  A.  L.  Aikin,"  to  which  her 
brother  John  contributed  the  smaller  part. 

She  gave  her  hand  the  next  year  (1774)  to  Rochemont 
Barbauld,  one  of  her  father's  pupils.  He  was  of  a  French 
Protestant  family,  and  his  father  had  been  chaplain  at  Cas- 
sel  to  the  Elector  of  Hesse,  son-in-law  of  George  II.  of  Eng- 
land. Her  niece,  Lucy  Aikin,  says  that  "  her  attachment 
to  Mr.  Barbauld  was  the  illusion  of  a  romantic  fancy,"  fos- 
tered, as  was  thought,  by  "  the  baneful  influence  of  the '  Nou- 
velle  Heloise,'  Mr.  B.  impersonating  St.  Preux."  She  says 
further :  "  Had  her  true  affections  been  early  called  forth 


38         THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

by  a  more  genial  home  atmosphere,  slie  would  never  have 
ailowed  herself  to  be  caught  by  crazy  demonstrations  of 
amorous  rapture  set  off  with  theatrical  French  manners." 
It  was  regarded  by  her  best  and  truest  friends  as  an  "  ill- 
starred  union."  Mt.  Barbauld,  though  reputed  a  religious 
man,  and  numbered  among  the  dissenting  ministry,  was 
every  way  her  inferior. 

Tliis  gave  the  cynical  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  occasion  to  say, 
"  Too  much  is  expected  from  precocity  and  too  little  per- 
formed. Miss  Aikin  was  an  instance  of  early  cultivation  ; 
but  in  what  did  it  terminate  ?  In  marr  jdng  a  little  Presby- 
terian parson  who  keeps  an  infant  boarding-school,  so  that 
all  her  employment  now  is, 

'  To  suckle  fools  and  chronicle  small  beer.' 

If  I  had  bestowed  such  an  education  on  a  daughter,  and 
had  discovered  that  she  thought  of  marrying  such  a  fel- 
low, I  would  have  sent  her  to  the  Congress." 

Tlie  "  infant  boarding-school "  was  kept  at  the  village  of 
Palgrave,  Suffolk,  two  miles  from  Diss,  Norfolk.  The  dis- 
senting congregation  of  the  latter  place  had  given  Mr.  Bar- 
bauld a  call,  which  he  had  accepted.  At  Palgrave,  to  which 
he  had  removed  ^^ith  his  bride,  he  opened  a  boarding-school 
for  boys,  in  which  his  wife  assisted  him.  Denied  the  bless- 
ing of  offspring,  she  adopted  her  brother's  son  Charles,  al- 
most from  his  birth.  For  him  and  her  more  youthful  pu- 
pils she  wrote,  and  in  1778  published,  her  "Early  Les- 
sons"; and  in  1781  her  "Hymns  in  Prose  for  Children." 
In  1775  she  had  published  her  "Devotional  Pieces  com- 
piled from  the  Psalms  and  the  Book  of  Job,  with  Thoughts 
on  the  Devotional  Taste  and  on  Sects  and  Establishments." 

Tlie  school  was  continued  for  eleven  years  with  success, 
but  it  proved  too  exhausting  for  each  of  them.  They  bade 
adieu,  therefore,  to  Palgrave  in  1785,  spent  a  year  on  the 
Continent  and  another  in  London,  and  then  settled  at 
Hampstead,  beautifully  situated  as  it  then  was  in  the 
country  on  the  elevated  ground  to  the  northwest  of  Lon- 
,^on— Mr.  Barbauld  having  accepted  the  pastoral  charge  of 


ANNA  L^TITIA  [AIKIN]  BAEBAULD.  39 

the  dissenting  congregation  there.  In  1793  she  made  a  visit 
to  Edinburgh  and  met  with  a  hearty  welcome  from  the  lit- 
erary celebrities  of  that  city. 

She  now  began  to  take  an  active  interest  in  the  politics 
of  the  day.  In  1790  she  published  "An  Address  to  the 
Opposers  of  the  Repeal  of  the  Corporation  and  Test  Acts  " ; 
in  1791,  "A  Poetical  Epistle  to  Mr.  Wilberforce  on  the 
Rejection  of  the  Bill  for  Abolishing  the  Slave  Trade";  in 
1793,  "Remarks  on  Mr.  Gilbert  Wakefield's  Inquiry  into 
the  Expediency  and  Propriety  of  Public  or  Social  Wor- 
ship"; also,  "  Sins  of  Government,  Sins  of  the  Nation  ;  or, 
a  Discourse  for  the  Fast."  She  contributed  fourteen  arti- 
cles to  "Evenings  at  Home,"  a  work  published  by  her 
brother,  in  six  volumes  (1792-179.5),  for  the  benefit  of  the 
young.  In  1795  she  contributed  eleven  hymns  to  Rees  and 
Kippis'  collection,  five  of  which  had  apiDeared  (1772)  in  the 
Warrington  Collection  of  Hymns. 

Her  brother,  in  1798,  had  removed  from  London  to  Stoke- 
Newington,  a  pretty  suburban  village,  a  few  miles  to  the 
northeast  of  London,  where  Dr.  Watts  had  passed  about 
forty  years  of  his  valuable  life.  She  induced  Mr.  Barbauld, 
in  1802,  to  purchase  a  house  close  to  her  brother's,  to  which 
they  soon  after  removed,  and  where  she  spent  the  remainder 
of  her  life. 

In  1804  she  published  a  volume  of  selections  from  the 
Spectator^  Tafler^  Guardian,  and  Freeholder,  with  an  ad- 
mirable Preliminary  Essay  ;  also  ' '  The  Correspondence  of 
Richardson,"  in  six  volumes,  with  a  Life  of  the  Novelist, 
and  an  able  Review  of  his  Works.  Many  of  her  publica- 
tions were  undertaken  as  a,  refuge  from  domestic  trouble. 
Her  husband  had,  at  an  early  period,  developed  a  tendency 
to  insanity,  which,  growing  with  his  years,  resulted  in  fre- 
quently-repeated fits  of  frenzy  and  madness.  Her  suffer- 
ings from  this  sad  fact  were  terrible,  yet  borne  without 
complaint,  and  with  Christian  resignation.  In  one  of  his 
paroxysms  he  rushed  upon  her  with  a  knife,  attempting  to 
take  her  life.  She  then  separated  from  him,  and  he  was 
removed  to  London,  where  he  was  put  in  charge  of  a  keeper. 


40  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

When  tlie  latter  was  off  his  guard,  Marcli  11,  1808,  lie  es- 
caped and  drowned  himself  in  the  New  River.  She  wrote 
an  affecting  Dirge  on  the  event. 

Her  brother,  in  1796,  had  become  the  literary  editor  of 
the  Monthly  Magazine^  and  for  ten  years  she  occasionally 
contributed  to  its  columns.  She  edited  also  an  edition  of 
"The  British  ISTovelists,"  which  was  published  in  1810, 
with  an  Introductory  Essay,  and  biographical  and  critical 
notices  prefixed  to  the  works  of  each  author.  This  was 
followed  the  next  year  by  "The  Female  Speaker,"  a  col- 
lection of  prose  and  verse ;  and  by  her  longest  and  most 
beautiful  Poem,  entitled  "Eighteen Hundred  and  Eleven," 
her  latest  separate  publication. 

The  last  fourteen  years  of  her  life  were  passed  in  retire- 
ment, with  occasional  visits  to  a  few  literary  friends.  Even 
in  her  old  age  she  "bore  the  remains  of  great  personal 
beauty.  She  had  a  brilliant  complexion,  light  hair,  blue 
eyes,  a  small  and  elegant  figure,  and  her  manners  were  very 
agreeable."  She  continued  to  be  the  delight  of  an  admir- 
ing circle  of  noble  friends  to  the  very  last.  Her  only 
brother,  John,  died  December  7,  1822.  In  her  later  days 
she  was  afflicted  with  asthma,  which  at  length  put  an  end 
to  her  life  March  9, 1825,  in  her  eighty-second  year. 

In  extreme  old  age  she  wrote  a  short  poem  on  "  life," 
beginning  wdth : 

' '  Life !  I  know  not  what  thou  art, 
But  know  that  thou  and  I  must  part." 

After  her  death  and  the  publication  of  her  "Works"  by 
her  niece.  Miss  Lucy  Aikin,  a  copy  of  the  book  was  given 
to  Miss  Wordsworth,  the  sister  of  the  poet.  This  particu- 
lar poem  was  read  to  Wordsworth,  and  at  his  request  re- 
peated, until  he  had  learned  it  by  heart.  Tlien,  as  he  paced 
his  sitting-room  at  Rydal,  Henry  Crabb  Robinson  heard 
him  mutter  to  himself,  "  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  grudging 
people  their  good  things,  but  I  wish  I  had  written  those 
lines: 

'  Life  !  weVe  been  long  together, 
Through  pleasant  and  through  cloudy  weather  ; 


JOEL  BARLOW.  41 

'Tis  liard  to  part  when  friends  are  dear  ; 
Perhaps  'twill  cost  a  sigh,  a  tear  ; 
Then  steal  away,  give  little  warning. 

Choose  thine  own  time  ; 
Say  not — Good-night ! — but  in  some  brighter  clime 

Bid  me — Good-morning  ! '  " 


JOEL  BAELOW. 
1754-1812. 

The  Psalms  and  Hymns  of  Dr.  Watts  were  reprinted  in 
America  as  early  as  1741.  They  were  introduced  gradually 
into  the  churches,  and  were  extensively  used  at  the  period 
of  "  the  Revolution."  At  the  close  of  the  war  the  altered 
political  relations  of  the  "States"  necessitated  a  corre- 
sponding change  in  those  portions  of  these  lyrics  which  re- 
ferred to  British  authority.  By  "The  General  Association 
of  Connecticut,"  at  their  Annual  Meeting  in  June,  1785,  "  it 
was  thought  expedient  that  a  number  of  the  Psalms  in  Doc- 
tor Watts'  version,  which  are  locally  appropriated,  should 
be  altered  and  applied  to  the  state  of  the  Christian  Church 
in  general,  and  not  to  any  particular  country ;  and,  finding 
some  attempts  had  been  made  to  alter  and  apply  those 
Psalms  to  America,  or  particular  parts  of  America,  tending 
to  destroy  that  uniformity  in  the  use  of  Psalmody  so  de- 
sirable in  religious  assemblies,  they  appointed  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Timothy  Pitkin,  John  Smally,  and  Theodore  Hins- 
dale, a  committee  to  confer  with  and  apply  to  Mr.  Joel  Bar- 
low, of  Hartford,  to  make  the  proposed  alterations." 

Mr.  BarloAv  complied  with  the  request,  and  the  revised 
book  appeared  the  next  year  (1786)  with  this  title :  "  Doc- 
tor Watts's  Imitation  of  the  Psalms  of  DaAdd,  Corrected  and 
Enlarged,  by  Joel  Barlow.  To  which  is  added  A  Collec- 
tion of  Hymns ;  The  whole  applied  to  the  State  of  the 
Christian  Church  in  General."  In  his  Preface  he  says: 
"  The  author  of  these  corrections  has  not  only  avoided  all 


42  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

local  applications,  but  has  made  some  sligliter  correctiona 
in  point  of  elegance,  where  the  rules  of  grammar,  estab- 
lished since  the  time  of  Doctor  Watts,  have  made  it  neces- 
sary. The  Psalms  considerably  altered  are  the  21st,  60th, 
67th,  7oth,  124th,  147th ;  those  omitted  by  Doctor  Watts 
are  the  28th,  43d,  52d,  54th,  59th,  64th,  70th,  79th,  88th, 
108th,  137th,  140th.  The  Hymns  are  selected  chiefly  fi'om 
Doctor  Watts ;  some  are  entirely  new."  The  hymns  are 
seventy  in  number ;  and  with  those  that  are  not  from  his 
own  pen,  great  liberties  have  been  taken.  Changes  were 
made  that  gave  great  offence,  and  at  length  occasioned  the 
later  revision  (1800)  by  Dr.  Dwiglit,  whose  edition  of  Watts 
superseded  Barlow's, 

As  an  illustration  of  the  indignation  felt  and  expressed 
at  the  liberties  taken  by  Barlow,  it  is  related,  in  Miss  Caulk- 
ins'  History  of  Norwich,  Ct.,  that  Oliver  Arnold  (a  cousin 
of  Benedict  Arnold),  being  "  in  a  bookseller's  shop  in  New 
Haven,"  Ct.,  "was  introduced  to  Joel  Barlow,"  who  pres- 
ently "  asked  for  a  specimen  of  his  talent "  as  an  impromptu 
rhymer ;  "  upon  which  the  wandering  poet  immediately  re- 
peated the  following  stanza : 

'  You've  proved  yourself  a  sinful  cre'tur  ; 
You've  murdered  Watts,  and  spoilt  the  metre  ; 
You've  tried  ttie  word  of  God  to  alter, 
And  for  your  pains  deserve  a  halter.'  " 

Barlow  was  the  son  of  Samuel  Barlow  and  Esther  Hull, 
being  the  youngest  of  eight  children,  and  was  born  at 
Reading,  Ct.,  March  24,  1754. .  In  1774  he  entered  Dart- 
mouth College,  his  father  having  died  (Dec.  20, 1773,  set. 
63),  and  left  him  property  barely  sufficient  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  his  education.  His  mother  died  August  28, 
1776,  set.  54.  Soon  after  he  removed  to  New  Haven,  Ct., 
and  entered  Yale  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1778  at 
the  head  of  his  class.  The  war  of  the  Revolution  was  in 
progress,  and  his  brothers  were  in  camp.  More  than  once, 
before  he  left  college,  he  had  joined  them,  and  borne  the 
brunt  of  battle.     His  poetic  bent  took  form  at  his  gradua- 


JOEL  BARLOW.  43 

tion  in  a  poem  entitled  "  The  Prospect  of  Peace,"  which 
was  published  the  same  year. 

He  now  began  the  study  of  law,  which,  at  the  urgency  of 
friends,  who  represented  to  him  the  great  need  of  chaplains 
in  the  army,  he  relinquished  for  a  brief  course  in  theology. 
He  was  licensed  to  preach  by  a  Congregational  Association 
at  New  Haven,  Ct.,  and  received  a  commission  as  army 
chaplain  in  the  Third  and  Fourth  Massachusetts  Brigades, 
in  which  capacity  he  served  (1780-1783)  to  the  end  of  the 
war.  A  part  of  the  time  he  was  associated  with  his  college 
friends  and  fellow  poets,  the  Rev.  Timothy  Dwight  and 
Col.  David  Humphreys.  The  trio  indulged  themselves  in 
poetic  recreation,  composing  patriotic  songs  and  more  elab- 
orate poems.  In  the  latter  part  of  1780,  Barlow  wrote  and 
published  an  elegy  in  verse,  in  honor  of  his  friend,  the  Hon. 
Titus  Hosmer,  of  Middletown,  Ct.,  and  the  next  year  an- 
other poem,  delivered  on  the  occasion  of  taldng  his  Mas- 
ter's Degree. 

He  married  (January  26, 1781)  Miss  Ruth,  a  daughter  of 
Michael  Baldwin,  the  sister  of  the  distinguished  statesman, 
Hon.  Abraham  Baldwin,  of  New  Haven,  and  having,  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  resumed  the  study  of  the  law,  he  settled 
at  Hartford,  Ct.,  where  he  started  a  weekly  gazette,  called 
The  American  Mercury.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1785.  The  next  year  he  published  his  edition  of  Watts' 
Psalms,  and  in  1787  his  first  elaborate  poem,  "  The  Vision 
of  Columbus."  The  gazette  was  now  relinquished,  and  a 
bookstore  started  for  the  sale  of  his  recent  publications. 
He  united  with  Dr.  Lemuel  Hopkins,  John  Trumbull,  and 
Col.  David  Humphreys  in  producing  the  "Anarchiad,"  a 
satirical  poem.  As  agent  of  the  "  Scioto  Land  Company," 
he  went  to  Europe,  but,  discovering  the  fraudulent  char- 
acter of  the  scheme,  he  soon  abandoned  the  agency. 

He  remained  abroad  seventeen  years,  residing  principally 
in  Paris,  and  taking  an  active  part,  by  voice  and  pen  and 
personal  effort,  in  the  stirring  events  of  that  most  exciting 
period.  In  1791  he  published  at  London  his  "  Advice  to 
the  Privileged  Orders,"  and  in  1792  his  poem  called  "  The 


44         THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Conspiracy  of  Kings."  His  humorous  poem  on  "The 
Hasty  Pudding,"  published  at  New  Haven  in  1796,  was 
wi^itten  in  January,  1793,  at  Chambery,  in  Savoy.  As  Con- 
sul of  the  United  States  at  Algiers  in  Africa  he  concluded 
(1795)  treaties  with  the  Barbary  States  and  secured  the  re- 
lease of  more  than  one  hundred  captives.  Eeturning  in 
1797  to  Paris,  he  enriched  himself  by  successful  trade,  pur- 
chased an  elegant  mansion,  and  for  several  years  exercised 
a  sumptuous  hospitality. 

On  his  return  to  America  in  1805  he  purchased  a  resi- 
dence at  Georgeto^vn,  D.  C,  which  he  named  "Kalorama." 
He  found  time  at  length  to  complete  his  great  work,  "  The 
Columbiad,"  and  to  publish  it  in  costly  style  (1807)  at  Phila- 
delphia. He  had  made  some  preparations  for  composing 
a  History  of  the  United  States,  when  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Madison  (1810)  to  succeed  Gen.  John  Armstrong 
as  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  to  France. 
Again  he  took  up  his  abode  at  Paris  and  entered  into  nego- 
tiations with  Napoleon  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment.  While  the  latter  was  prosecuting  his  Russian 
campaign,  he  sent  for  Barlow  to  meet  him  in  conference  at 
Wilna,  in  Poland.  His  exposures  and  fatigues  on  the 
Journey  induced  a  violent  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  re- 
sulting, December  24, 1812,  in  his  death  at  Zarnawicka,  a 
small  village  twenty  miles  north  of  Cracow,  Poland.  Dis- 
tinguished honors,  both  in  France  and  America,  were  paid 
to  his  memory. 

His  version  of  the  127th  Psalm  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
very  best.     It  is  as  follows : 

"  Along  the  banks  where  Babel's  current  flows, 

Our  captiYe  bands  in  deep  despondence  strayed ; 
While  Zion's  fall  in  sad  remembrance  rose, 

Her  friends,  her  children,  mingled  with  the  dead 

"  Tlie  tuneless  harp  that  once  with  joy  we  strung, 

When  praise  employed  and  mirth  inspired  the  lay, 
In  mournful  silence  on  the  willows  hung, 
And  growing  grief  prolonged  the  tedious  day. 


HENEY  BATEMAN.  4S 

'*  The  barb'rous  tyrants,  to  increase  tiie  woe, 
With,  taunting  smiles  a  song  of  Zion  claim ; 
Bid  sacred  praise  in  strains  melodious  flow, 
While  they  blaspheme  the  great  Jehovah's  name. 

' '  But  how,  in  heathen  chains  and  lands  unknown. 
Shall  Israel's  bands  a  song  of  Zion  raise  ? 
O  hapless  Salem !  God's  teiTestrial  throne. 
Thou  land  of  glory,  sacred  mount  of  praise  !— 

"  If  e'er  my  mem'ry  lose  thy  lovely  name, 
If  my  cold  heart  neglect  my  kindred  race. 
Let  dire  destruction  seize  this  guilty  frame. 

My  hand  shall  perish  and  my  voice  shall  ceasa. 

"  Yet  shall  the  Lord,  who  hears  when  Zion  calls, 
O'ertake  her  foes  with  tensor  and  dismay ; 
His  arm  avenge  her  desolated  walls. 
And  raise  her  childi-en  to  eternal  day." 


HENRY  BATEMAN. 

Me.  Bateman  is  a  citizen  of  London.  Born  about  the 
beginning  of  tlie  century,  lie  lias  spent  a  long  life  in  hon- 
orable and  successful  business.  He  is  a  brother  of  the 
Rev.  Josiah  Bateman,  a  rector  in  Southend,  Essex,  who,  in 
1832,  accompanied  Bishop  Daniel  Wilson  as  his  chaplain 
to  India,  became  his  son-in-law,  and,  in  1860,  published  his 
Memoirs  in  two  volumes.  The  Bishop  was,  also,  their  ma- 
ternal uncle.  Their  father  was  an  eminent  citizen  of  the 
metropolis,  and  for  many  years  a  manager  of  George 
Whitefield's  Tabernacle  in  Moorfields.  Henry  Bateman, 
by  inheritance  and  conviction,  is  a  conscientious  and  ar- 
dent-minded dissenter.  The  late  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Binney, 
Independent,  of  London,  was  his  brother-ta-law,  as  also  is 
the  Rev.  Josiah  Viney,  of  the  London  Independents,  High- 
gate,  South  Grove. 

Diligent  as  Mr.  Bateman  has  ever  been  in  business,  he 


46  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

has  always  been  ready  for  effective  service  in  the  promo- 
tion of  religions  and  philanthropic  objects.  He  was  for- 
merly the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Newport  Pagnell  Col- 
lege, presided  over  by  his  uncle.  He  has  since  served  on 
the  committees  of  Cheshnnt  and  New  Colleges.  He  has, 
also,  been  a  director  of  the  Religions  Tract  Society  and 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society ;  also  a  member  of  the 
Home  Missionary  Committee,  and  identified  from  the  be- 
ginning with  the  Society  for  the  Abolition  of  Church 
Rates.  Formerly  he  held  the  office  of  deacon  in  the  Holy- 
well Mount  Chapel,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Edward 
Mannering,  Shoreditch ;  and  latterly,  since  his  removal  to 
Upper  Clapton,  a  deacon  in  the  Clapton  church,  under  the 
care  of  the  Rev.  Henry  John  Gamble. 

With  all  this  Mr.  Bateman  has  found  time  for  literary 
pursuits,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  poetic  art,  in  which  he 
has  abundantly  shown  his  proficiency.  In  1858,  after  a 
tour  on  the  Continent,  he  published  "  Belgium,  and  Up  and 
Down  on  the  Rhine";  a  book  of  travels  in  verse,  evincing 
"  a  poet's  eye,  a  good  man's  heart,  and  great  facility  and 
directness  in  expression."  Tliis  was  followed,  the  same 
year,  by  his  "  Sunday  Sunshine :  Hymns  and  Poems  for 
the  Young."  Both  of  these  publications  were  received 
with  much  favor.  In  1862  he  sent  forth  his  "  Home  Mus- 
ings :  Metrical  Lay  Sermons,"  and  a  few  months  later  his 
"Heart  Melodies:  Three  Hundred  and  Sixty-five  New 
Hymns  and  Psalms  for  Public  Worship  or  Domestic 
Use."  His  latest  publication  is  a  beautiful  volume,  issued 
in  1869,  entitled  "  Fret  Not,  and  other  Poems ;  including 
Hymns,  with  Music." 

This  charming  book  is  thus  introduced  by  the  venerable 
author :  "  If  it  be  admitted  that  to  induce  a  Blade  of  Grass 
to  grow  where  never  one  grew  before  is  to  be  a  World- 
Benefactor,  let  me  claim  for  the  present  volume  the  aim, 
at  least,  to  plant  some  green  thoughts  in  hearts  that  are 
arid  or  sad"; — "a  book  which,  in  its  varied  parts,  may,  I 
hope,  prove  helpful  and  encouraging  to  Fellow-Travellers 
on  Life's  sometimes  Dark  and  often  Weary  Way."    The 


HENRY  BATEMAN.  47 

first  poem  directs  the  fretful  soul  to  "  God's  Greatness  and 
Goodness  in  The  Without,"  to  "God's  Kindness  and 
Teaching  in  The  Within,"  to  "  God's  Wisdom  and  Just- 
ness in  His  Providence,"  and  to  "  God's  Mercy  in  the  Gos- 
pel of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  The  following  stanzas  are 
from  the  latter  part  of  this  poem : 

"  But,  cliild  of  God!  when  he  has  filled  thy  heart 
With  his  sweet  love,  and  taught  thee  how  to  live, 

And  thou,  in  Christ,  hast  chosen  the  good  part, 
The  better  part  his  Spirit  waits  to  give, 

All  shall  be  well !  thy  life  and  all  thy  ways, 

A  thankful  tribute  of  unceasing  praise. 

"  Happy  to  live  a  Life  so  true  and  right. 

So  blessed  and  tranqiiil,  that  to  thy  dear  Home 
A  sense  of  pleasant  and  sufFusive  light 

From  every  word  and  act  of  thine  shall  come, 
And  all  may  see  how,  in  thy  soul,  have  met 
God's  grace,  and  hope  of  life  far  better  yet. 

"  O  blessed  Life!  O  sweet,  fair  home  and  rest! 
Unruffled  in  its  purity  of  joy : 
Home!  with  enfranchised  spirits  ever  blessed; 

God's  praise  the  happy  heart's  serene  employ ! 
Sin  and  Time's  Fret,  and  all  its  troubles  o'er; 
Heaven's  perfect  peace— Light!  Light  for  Evermore  1 " 

Of  his  hymn, 

"  Jesus!  Jesus!  come  and  save  us," 

he  sa^s  that  it  was  suggested  by  a  remarkably  fervent  and 
touching  prayer  that  he  heard  offered  "  Wednesday,  Sep- 
tember 7,  1862,"  in  a  Noon-day  Prayer-meeting  held  in 
Crosby  Hall,  London,  in  which,  with  inimitable  pathos  of 
tone  and  manner,  the  suppliant  frequently  uttered  the 
word-s :  "  O  Jesus !  Jesus ! "  beseeching  him  "  to  come,  and 
help,  and  bless." 


48  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

WILLIAM  HILEY  BRAGGE-BATHURST. 
1796-1877. 

Me.  Bathuest  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Sir  Benjamin 
Bathurst,  Governor  in  1688-'9  of  the  Royal  African  and 
East  India  Companies.  Allen,  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  Ben- 
jamin, was,  in  1711,  created  Baron,  and  in  1771,  Earl,  of 
Bathurst.  Anne,  daughter  of  the  Earl's  brother,  Benja- 
min, was  married  to  Charles  Bragge,  Esq.,  of  Cleve  Hill, 
Mangotsfield,  Gloucestershire.  Her  son,  the  Right  Hon. 
Charles  Bragge,  M.P.,  by  the  decease  of  his  uncles,  Thomas 
and  Poole,  without  heirs,  came,  in  1804,  into  possession  of 
the  large  Sydney  estates,  near  the  Severn,  Gloucestershire, 
and,  by  sign-manual,  took  the  name  of  Bragge-Bathurst. 
He  married,  in  1788,  Charlotte,  the  daughter  of  Anthony 
Addington,  M.D.,  and  Mary  Hiley.  Their  second  son, 
William  Hiley,  was  born  at  Cleve  Hill,  the  seat  of  the 
Bragge  family,  near  Bristol,  August  28,  1796,  and  was 
trained  for  the  Church. 

His  preparatory  course  was  pursued  at  Winchester 
school ;  his  collegiate  course  at  Christ  Church,  Oxford. 
He  graduated  in  1818.  The  following  year  he  was  or- 
dained deacon  by  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  and  in  1820  priest 
by  Dr.  Howley,  then  Bishop  of  London,  afterward  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.  In  September,  1820,  he  was  pre- 
sented by  his  kinsman  Henry,  Third  Earl  of  Bathurst,  to 
the  Rectory  of  Barwick-in-Elmet,  Yorkshire.  Faithfully 
devoting  himself  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  parishion- 
ers, he  greatly  endeared  himself  to  them  all  by  his  eminent 
piety,  his  great  simplicity  of  character,  his  tender  love,  and 
his  abundant  generosity.  At  the  expiration  of  thirty-two 
years,  owing  to  conscientious  scruples  in  relation  to  parts 
of  the  Baptismal  and  Burial  serArices  of  the  Church,  he  re- 
signed (1852)  his  living  and  retired  to  private  life.  He 
found  a  congenial  home  at  Darleydale,  near  Matlock,  Der- 
byshire, where  for  eleven  years  he  gave  himself  principally 


WILLIAM  HILEY  BRAGGE-BATHURST.  49 

to  literary  pursuits.  By  the  decease  of  Ms  elder  brother 
Charles  in  May,  1863,  without  heirs,  he  came  into  posses- 
sion of  his  father's  estate,  and  soon  after  removed  to  Lyd- 
ney  Park,  where  he  died,  November  25,  1877. 

In  the  early  years  of  his  ministry  Mr.  Bathurst  improved 
his  leisure  time  by  composing  hymns  and  versifying  a  large 
portion  of  the  Psalms.  The  result  was  given  to  the  public 
(1830)  in  a  small  volume  entitled  "  Psalms  and  Hymns  for 
Public  and  Private  Use."  Of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty 
Psalms,  all  but  eighteen,  and  of  the  Hymns,  the  whole 
number  (two  hundred  and  six)  are  from  his  own  pen.  At 
the  expiration  of  nearly  twenty  years  more  (1849)  he  pub- 
lished a  metrical  version  of  "  The  Georgics  of  Yirgil,"  the 
fruit  of  his  leisure  hours  and  of  his  rural  experience,  also 
a  volume  of  "  Metrical  Musings ;  or.  Thoughts  on  Sacred 
Subjects  in  Yerse." 

A  pleasing  specimen,  both  of  Ms  style  and  of  his  spirit, 
appears  in  the  following  hymn,  on  "Christ  in  You,  the 
Hope  of  Glory  " : 

"  O  Saviour!  may  we  never  rest 
Till  Thou  art  formed  within ; 
TUl  Thou  hast  cahned  our  troubled  breast 
And  crushed  the  power  of  sin. 

"  Oh!  may  we  gaze  upon  Thy  cross, 
Until  the  wondrous  sight 
Makes  earthly  treasures  seem  but  dross 
And  earthly  sorrows  light : 

"  Until,  released  from  carnal  ties, 
Our  spirit  upward  springs, 
And  sees  true  peace  above  the  skies, 
True  joy  in  heavenly  things. 

"  There,  as  we  gaze,  may  we  become 
United,  Lord !  to  Thee ; 
And,  in  a  fairer,  happier  home, 
Thy  perfect  beauty  see." 


50  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


EICHARD  BAXTER. 

i 

1615-1691. 

Few  men  in  any  age  have  used  the  pen  more  constantly 
and  to  better  purpose  than  Richard  Baxter.  But  he  was 
not  a  poet.  He  seldom  courted  the  Muses.  It  was  not  in 
his  vein.  He  could  not  give  the  time  and  labor  requisite 
for  the  skilful  and  graceful  elaboration  of  his  thoughts  in 
verse. 

And  yet  he  was  passionately  fond  of  sacred  song. 
"  For  myself,"  he  says,  "  I  confess  that  harmony  and  mel- 
ody are  the  pleasure  and  elevation  of  my  soul.  I  have 
made  a  psalm  of  praise  in  the  holy  assembly  the  chief  de- 
lightful exercise  of  my  religion  and  my  life."  Genius  and 
imagination  characterized  much  of  what  he  wrote.  But  he 
was  too  earnest,  too  practical,  too  intent  on  his  great  work 
of  winning  souls  to  put  his  glowing  thoughts  in  mellifluous 
verse. 

He  published,  in  1681,  a  small  volume  entitled  "Poetical 
Fragments:  Heart  Employment  with  God  and  Itself. 
The  concordant  discord  of  a  broken,  healed  heart,  sor- 
rowing, rejoicing,  fearing,  hoping,  living,  dying."  Two 
years  later  he  published  "  Additions  to  the  Poetical  Frag- 
ments, written  for  himself,  and  communicated  to  such  as 
are  more  for  serious  verse  than  smooth."  After  the  same 
fashion  he  versified  "The  Book  of  Psalms,"  which  was 
given  to  the  public  (1692),  after  his  decease,  by  his  friend 
and  biographer,  Matthew  Sylvester,  with  the  title,  "  Para- 
phrase of  the  Psalms  of  David,  with  other  Hymns." 

Of  his  "  Poetical  Fragments,"  Baxter  thus  writes  :  "  All 
that  I  have  to  say  for  these  '  Fragments '  is— 1.  That  being 
fitted  to  women  and  vulgar  wits,  which  are  the  far  greatest 
number,  they  may  be  useful  to  such,  though  contemptible 
to  those  of  higher  elevation  and  expectation.  2.  And  be- 
ing suited  to  alflicted,  sick,  dying,  troubled,  sad,  and  doubt- 


RICHARD  BAXTER.  51 

ing  persons,  tlie  number  of  such  is  so  great  in  these  calam- 
itous times  as  may  render  them  useful  to  more  than  I  de- 
sire. 3.  And  if  my  j^resent  grief  [the  death  of  his  wife] 
may  but  excuse  the  i^ublication,  he  that  needeth  them  not 
may  let  them  alone." 

The  renowned  author  of  the  "  Call  to  the  Unconverted  " 
is  too  well  known  and  his  life  was  too  full  of  incident  to 
make  it  necessary  to  give  here  more  than  the  merest  out- 
line of  his  personal  history.  He  was  born,  of  godly  par- 
ents, November  12, 1615,  at  the  village  of  Rowton,  in  Shrop- 
shire, eight  miles  west  of  Shrewsbury,  England,  a  village 
that  has  no  other  distinction.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was 
hopefully  converted.  He  entered  on  public  life,  as  a  school- 
master, first  at  Wroxeter,  and  then  at  Dudley,  Worcester- 
shire. In  1638  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  by  Bishop 
Thornborough,  at  Worcester.  He  accepted  (1639)  an  invi- 
tation from  the  church  of  Bridgenorth,  the  second  tovra.  in 
Shropshire,  to  become  their  pastor.  In  1641  he  removed 
to  Kidderminster,  in  the  same  county.  After  the  breaking 
out  of  the  civil  war  he  retired,  first  to  Gloucester  then  to 
Coventry.  In  1642  he  became  the  chaplain  of  Col.  Whal- 
ley's  regiment.  Severe  illness  at  length  drove  him  from 
the  army,  and  he  found  a  home  in  the  house  of  Sir  Thomas 
Rous  at  Rous  Leuch,  Worcestershire.  Here  he  wrote  his 
"  Saints'  Everlasting  Rest " — the  abridgment  of  which  has 
immortalized  his  name.  He  returned  to  Kidderminster  in 
1646  and  entered  on  the  great  work  of  his  life. 

On  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  (1660)  he  was  appointed 
one  of  the  King's  chaplains,  was  offered  and  declined  a 
Bishopric,  and,  on  the  passage  of  the  noted  "  Act  of  Uni- 
formity "  (1662),  became  a  Non-confoiinist.  Ejected  from 
his  pastoral  charge,  he  passed  the  remaining  period  of  his 
life  in  much  disquiet  and  tribulation  (2  Cor.  xi.  26,  27), 
employing  his  brief  intervals  of  repose  in  the  preparation 
and  publication  of  controversial  and  practical  tracts  and 
larger  treatises.  He  died  in  great  peace,  at  London,  De- 
cember 8, 1691. 

The  products  of  his  pen,  according  to  Calamy,  his  biog- 


62         THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

rapher,  amount  to  "  four  folios,  fif ty-eiglit  quartos  (besides 
single  sermons),  forty-six  octavos,  and  twenty-nine  duode- 
cimos, with  occasional  sheets  and  prefaces  to  other  men's 
books."  In  his  pastoral  work  he  has  probably  never  been 
excelled.  When  he  began  his  ministry  at  Kidderminster 
"  there  was  scarcely  a  house  in  a  street  where  there  was 
family  worship ;  when  he  left  it,  there  was  scarcely  a  fam- 
ily in  the  side  of  a  street  where  it  was  not ;  and  whoever 
walked  through  the  town  on  the  Lord's  Day  evening,  heard 
everywhere  the  delightful  sound  of  reading  the  Scriptures 
and  prayer  and  praise." 
His  well-known  hymn, 

"  My  whole,  though  broken  heart,  O  Lord! 
From  henceforth  shall  be  thine," 

is  a  song  of  tribulation  ;  an  utterance  of  hope  in  a  sea  of 
trouble. 

Several  of  the  hymns  attached  to  his  "Poetical  Frag- 
ments "  were  written  so  as  to  be  sung  to  either  L.  M.  or  C. 
M.  tunes,  as  in  the  following  specimen  of  his  style : 

"  Blest  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord 
Imputes  not  gxiilt  of  [any]  sia. 
Nor  calls  him  to  a  strict  account 
What  he  hath  [thought  and]  done  and  been. 

"  Conscience  permits  us  not  to  think 
That  any  [of  us]  faultless  are ; 
Who  then  can  rigorous  justice  bear 
At  Grod's  most  righteous  [dreadful]  bar  ? 

"  But  blessed  be  our  Redeemer's  grace. 
Who  before  [rigorous]  justice  stood ; 
Did  pay  our  debt,  our  guilt  deface. 
And  washed  us  in  his  [precious]  blood." 


BENJAMIN  BEDDOME.  53 

BENJAMIN   BEDDOME. 

1717-1795. 

Mr.  Beddome  was  a  Baptist  minister,  as  was,  also,  liia 
father,  the  Rev.  Jolin  Beddome  (1674-1757).  In  his  early 
ministry  the  father  was  settled  at  Horseleydown,  South wark, 
and  then  at  Henly-in-Arden,  a  market-town,  nine  miles 
west  of  Warwick,  England.  There  Benjamin  was  born, 
January  23,  1717.  Thence  the  family  removed  in  1724  to 
Bristol,  the  father  having  accepted  the  pastorate  of  the 
Pithay  church  in  that  town. 

After  a  suitable  education  the  son  was  apprenticed  to  a 
surgeon  apothecary.  He  was  seriously  impressed  by  a  ser- 
mon on  Luke  xv.  7,  preached  August  7, 1737,  in  his  father's 
church,  by  Mr.  Ware,  of  Chesham.  At  the  close  of  his  ap- 
prenticeship, having  become  a  subject  of  divine  grace,  he 
determined  to  enter  the  ministry,  and  became  a  student  in 
Bristol  College,  under  the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  Bernard  Fos- 
kett.  Thence  he  repaired  to  London,  and  put  himself  un- 
der the  instructions  of  the  learned  Rev.  John  Eames,  of  the 
Independent  Academy,  Tenter  Alley,  Moorfields.  He  was 
baptized,  in  1739,  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson,  of  the  Little 
Prescot  Street  Church,  Goodman's  Fields,  and  was  licensed 
to  preach,  February,  1740,  by  the  church  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Stennett.  At  the  expiration  of  three  and  a  half  years  he 
was  ordained  (September  23, 1743)  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
church,  in  the  village  of  Bourton-on-the- Water,  in  Glouces- 
tershire. He  married,  in  1749,  Elizabeth  Boswell,  of  Bour- 
ton.  Though  urged  to  become  his  father's  colleague  at 
Bristol,  and  afterward  to  become  the  pastor  of  the  largest 
Baptist  church  in  London  (the  one  where  he  was  baptized), 
he  declined  every  invitation  from  abroad,  devoting  himself 
to  the  interests  of  his  country  charge,  with  perfect  content- 
ment, and  with  the  happiest  results.  One  of  his  sons  died 
in  1765,  another  in  1778,  and  a  third  in  1784.  At  length, 
after  a  most  faithful  ministry  of  fifty-two  years  (eighteen 
with  a  colleague),  he  departed  this  life  September  3, 1795. 


54  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

With,  the  exception  of  the  Circular  Letter  of  the  Midland 
Association  for  1765,  his  only  publication  (1752)  was  "A 
Scriptural  Exposition  on  the  Baptist  Catechism,  by  way  of 
Question  and  Answer."  Ten  years  after  his  decease  two 
volumes  of  his  sennons  were  published  (1805),  each  entitled 
"  Twenty  Short  Discourses,  adapted  to  Village  Worship ; 
or.  The  Devotions  of  the  Family."  A  third  volume  of  "  Ser- 
mons "  appeared  in  1835. 

"  Mr.  Beddome,"  says  the  eminent  Robert  Hall,  "  was,  on 
many  accounts,  an  extraordinary  person.  His  mind  w^as 
cast  in  an  original  mould ;  his  conceptions  on  every  subject 
were  eminently  his  own."  "  Favored  with  the  advantages 
of  a  learned  education,  he  continued  to  the  last  to  cultivate 
an  acquaintance  with  the  best  writers  of  antiquity,  to  which 
he  was  much  indebted  for  the  chaste,  terse,  and  nervous 
diction,  which  distinguished  his  compositions  both  in  prose 
and  verse."  "He  was  eminent  for  his  colloquial  powers, 
in  which  he  displayed  the  urbanity  of  the  gentleman,  and 
the  erudition  of  the  scholar,  combined  with  a  more  copious 
vein  of  attic  salt  than  any  person  it  has  been  my  lot  to 
know." 

Many  of  his  hymns  which  have  long  been  in  familiar  use 
are  selected  from  "  Hymns  adapted  to  Public  Worship  or 
Family  Devotion.  Now  first  published  from  the  manu- 
scripts of  the  late  Rev.  B.  Beddome,  A.M.  With  a  Rec- 
ommendatory Preface  by  the  Rev.  R.  Hall,  A.M.  London, 
1818. "  More  than  fifty  of  these  had  been  contributed  (1787) 
to  Dr.  Rippon's  "  Selection,"  and  so  had  found  their  way 
into  other  Collections  and  periodicals.  The  volume  con- 
tains 822  hjTiins  and  8  doxologies,  all  original.  The  most 
of  them  were  written  to  be  sung  in  connection  with  the 
author's  discourses,  after  the  manner  of  Drs.  Watts  and 
Doddridge. 

Montgomery  speaks  of  his  hymns  as  "  very  agreeable  as 
well  as  impressive,  being  for  the  most  part  brief  and  pithy. 
A  single  idea,  always  important,  often  striking,  and  some 
times  ingeniously  brought  out,  not  with  a  mere  point  at 
the  end,  but  with  the  terseness  and  simplicity  of  the  Greek 


NATHAN  SYDNEY  SMITH  BEMAN.  55 

epigram,  constitutes  the  basis  of  eacli  piece."  His  name 
would  deserve  to  be  held  in  everlasting  remembrance  if  lie 
had  left  no  other  memorial  of  the  excellent  spirit  which 
was  in  him  than  the  few  humble  verses : 

"  Let  party  names  no  more,"  etc. 

A  single  specimen— the  557th  of  his  book— will  abundantly 
confirm  these  commendations : 

"  Jesus,  my  Savioiir  !  bind  me  fast. 
In  cords  of  heavenly  love  ; 
Then  sweetly  draw  me  to  thy  breast, 
Nor  let  me  thence  remove. 

"  Draw  me  from  all  created  good. 
Myself,  the  world,  and  sin. 
To  the  dear  fountain  of  thy  blood. 
And  make  me  pure  within. 

"  Oh  !  lead  me  to  thy  mercy-seat, 
Attract  me  nearer  still — 
Draw  me,  like  Mary,  to  thy  feet, 
To  sit  and  learn  thy  will. 

"  Oh  !  draw  me  by  thy  providence, 
Thy  spirit  and  thy  word. 
From  all  the  things  of  time  and  sense, 
To  thee,  my  gracious  Lord  ! " 


TSTATTTAN  SYDNEY  SMITH  BEMAN. 

1785-1871. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Bematst  was  born  in  the  town  of  Canaan 
(now  New  Lebanon),  Columbia  County,  New  York,  Novem- 
ber 27, 1785.  His  father,  Samuel  Beman,  was  of  German 
descent,  highly  respectable,  of  good  intellect,  a  man  of 
business,  a  gentleman  of  old-school  manners  and  habits, 
wearing  breeches  and  buckles  to  the  last  (1845),  and  an 


66  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

adherent  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  His  mother,  Silence 
Douglas,  was  of  Scotch  Presbyterian  origin.  His  parents 
removed  in  1790  to  Hampton,  Washington  County,  New 
York. 

Nathan  remained  on  the  farm  until  his  fifteenth  year. 
He  then  entered  an  academy,  taught  by  Mr.  Bolles,  of  the 
University  of  Dublin,  in  Poultney,  Yt.,— one-half  of  his 
father's  farm  lying  in  this  town.  Two  years  afterwards 
(1802)  he  was  sent  to  the  grammar  school  at  Williamstown, 
Mass.,  and  entered  Williams  College  in  1803.  He  was 
transferred  to  Middlebury  College,  Yt.,  in  1804,  where  he 
graduated  in  1807.  While  in  his  junior  year  he  became  a 
subject  of  divine  grace,  and,  at  his  graduation,  he  relin- 
quished his  original  design  of  becoming  a  lawyer,  and  re- 
solved to  seek  the  Christian  ministry.  He  accepted  an  in- 
vitation to  become  the  Principal  of  Lincoln  Academy,  New- 
castle, Maine,  and  at  the  same  time  pursued  a  course  of 
theological  study  with  the  Rev.  Kiah  Bailey,  the  pastor  of 
the  Congregational  church  of  that  town.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  nearly  two  years,  June  14, 1809,  he  was  licensed  by 
the  Lincoln  and  Kennebec  Association  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel. In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  became  a  Tutor  of 
Middlebury  College.  Shortly  after,  he  accepted  a  call  from 
the  Third  Congregational  Church  of  Portland,  Me.,  and 
was  ordained  their  pastor  March  10, 1810. 

At  an  early  period  he  developed  symptoms  of  pulmonary 
disease,  which  compelled  him  to  relinquish  his  pastoral 
charge.  He  was  dismissed  in  October,  1812,  and  immedi- 
ately sought  a  milder  climate.  He  found  a  home  in  Han- 
cock County,  Ga.,  where  he  gathered  a  Presbyterian  church 
and  established  a  classical  school  for  both  sexes,  and  speed- 
ily acquired  a  high  reputation  as  a  teacher.  This  position 
he  held  for  ten  years,  with  the  exception  of  the  year  1818, 
when  he  served  as  President  of  Franldin  College,  Athens, 
Ga.  In  1822  he  returned  to  the  North,  and  in  September 
was  invited  to  preach  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Troy,  N.  Y.  He  received  soon  after  a  call  to  be  its  pastor, 
and  was  installed  June  17,  1823.     In  this  post,  which  by 


NATHAN  SYDNEY  SMITH  BEMAN.        57 

his  superior  abilities  and  Ms  eminent  faithfulness  lie  greatly 
adorned,  lie  remained  for  forty  years.  Then,  at  his  own 
request,  he  was  released,  June  16, 1863,  from  the  active  work 
of  the  pastor,  and  retained  as  "  Pastor  Emeritus." 

He  was  twice  married— first  to  a  Vermont  lady,  and  then 
to  a  Southern  lady,  whom  also  he  survived.  The  last  few 
years  of  his  life  were  spent  with  his  daughter  at  Carbon- 
dale,  m.,  where  he  died  August  8, 1871,  in  his  eighty-sixth 
year. 

Dr.  Beman  was  no  ordinary  man.  As  a  preacher,  a  the- 
ologian, a  debater,  a  counselor,  a  philanthropist,  and  a 
reformer,  he  occupied  the  very  first  rank.  In  fact,  he  had 
very  few  peers,  scarcely  any  superiors.  He  was  a  mighty 
champion  in  the  cause  of  Temperance  and  of  Anti-Slavery. 
He  favored,  with  his  whole  heart,  the  work  of  Revivals  of 
Religion,  and  his  preaching  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  pro- 
mote them.  Everywhere  he  was  acknowledged  as  a  most 
effective  leader,  as  "  a  master  in  Israel."  Williams  CoUege 
conferred  on  him,  in  1824,  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  and 
Middlebury  College,  Yt.,  in  1852,  the  honorary  degree  of 
LL.D.  He  was  the  Moderator  of  the  Presbyterian  General 
Assembly  of  1831,  and  took  a  foremost  part  in  the  debates 
that  led  (1837-1838)  to  the  dismemberment  of  the  Church, 
pleading  the  cause  that  he  loved  with  a  force  of  argument 
and  a  loftiness  of  eloquence  that  challenged  universal  ad- 
miration. He  was  the  acknowledged  peer  of  the  greatest 
statesmen  of  the  land.  Pulpits  of  the  first  class  and  presi- 
dencies of  colleges  were  repeatedly  offered  him,  but  he  de- 
clined them  all.  He  lived  to  witness  the  two  darling  de- 
sires of  his  heart — the  Abolition  of  American  Slavery  and 
the  Reunion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

His  publications  were  few.  His  "  Four  Sermons  on  the 
Doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  Troy,  1825,"  excited  great  in- 
terest, and  their  publication  had  a  marked  effect  on  the 
theological  controversies  of  the  period.  His  "  Sacred  Lyr- 
ics," or  "  Select  Hymns,  particularly  adapted  to  Revivals  of 
Religion,  and  intended  as  a  Supplement  to  Watts,  by  Na- 
than S.  S.  Beman ;  Troy,  1832,"  was  followed  in  1841  by  a 


58  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

much  larger  compilation,  with,  the  same  name,  "  intended 
to  be  a  comjDlete  Collection  of  Psalms  and  Hymns  for  the 
Use  of  the  Sanctuary."  A  second  and  revised  edition,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  "  The  Church  Psalmist,"  was 
published  in  1843,  and  received  the  endorsement  of  the 
[N".  S.]  General  Assembly  of  that  year.  It  has  had  an  ex- 
tensive circulation,  and,  until  recently,  was  largely  in  use. 
The  only  hymns  from  his  pen  are  the  following  three, 
which  first  appeared  in  "  Sacred  Lyrics "  with  his  initial 
[B.]: 
<yL  If^s    i  /  ^       "  Jesiis  !  I  come  to  thee,"  etc.— 

-^^ '       "  Jesus  !  we  bow  before  tby  throne,"  etc. — 
i^O       "  Hai'k  1  the  judgment-trumpet  soimding." 


ERASTUS  CORNELIUS  BENEDICT. 

1800-1880. 

Me.  Bet^edict  was  an  honored  counselor  of  the  city  of 
New  York.  He  was  a  descendant  of  Thomas  Benedict  (1617- 
1690),  of  Norwalk,  Conn.  His  great-grandfather,  Peter,  son 
of  Deacon  James,  of  Ridgefield,  Conn.,  settled  early  in  the 
last  century  at  Salem,  Westchester  Co.,  N.  Y.  His  grand- 
father, Abner  (1740-1818),  was  the  brother  of  the  Rev.  Joel 
Benedict,  D.D.  (1745-1816),  an  eminent  biblical  and  classi- 
cal scholar,  of  Plainfield,  Conn.,  and  was  himself  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel,  and  pastor  successively  of  the  Congrega- 
tional churches  of  Middlefield,  Conn.,  and  New  Lebanon, 
N.  Y.,  a  preacher  subsequently  in  Morris  Co.,  N.  J.,  and 
Roxbury,  N.  Y., — ^having  graduated  at  Yale  CoUege,  in 
1769.  His  father,  Joel  Tyler  Benedict  (1772-1833),  born 
at  Middlefield,  Conn.,  began  life  as  a  lawyer  in  Connecti- 
cut ;  but,  having  been  converted  in  his  thirtieth  year,  he 
was  licensed,  June  15,  1802,  by  the  Morris  County  Presby- 
tery, and  ordained  November  16, 1803,  as  an  evangelist,  at 
Blooming  Grove,  N.  Y.     He  was  eminently  blessed  in  his 


ERASTUS  CORNELIUS  BENEDICT.  59 

ministry  as  a  laborer  for  many  years  in  revivals  of  religion, 
and  subsequently  as  a  pastor  at  Franklin,  ]^.  Y. ,  and  Chat- 
ham, N.  Y.  In  1816  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  and  for 
many  years,  until  his  death,  October  23,  1833,  he  was  the 
Secretary  of  the  Pennsylvania  Tract  Society.  His  piety 
was  of  a  high  order. 

Erastus  was  born,  March  19,  1800,  at  Branford,  Conn. 
He  graduated  at  Williams  College  in  1821,  and  in  1824  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  at  New  York,  where  he  resided  until 
his  death,  October  22, 1880.  During  his  extended  profes- 
sional life,  he  acquired  a  well-earned  reputation  for  legal 
skill,  eminent  integrity,  and  accurate  scholarship.  Long 
a  pronounced  Christian  in  connection  with  the  Presbyterian 
and  the  Reformed  churches,  he  was  known  as  a  wise  coun- 
selor and  earnest  friend  of  the  Church,  ever  ready  to  pro- 
mote its  interests.  He  took  quite  an  active  and  prominent 
part  in  advancing  the  cause  of  education.  At  various 
times,  he  served  as  a  trustee  of  the  public  schools  of  the 
city,  a  member  and  President  of  its  Board  of  Education, 
and,  from  1855,  as  a  Regent  of  the  University  of  New  York. 
On  several  occasions,  also,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
City  Council  and  of  the  State  Legislature,  as  Assembly- 
man and  as  Senator.  In  1865  Rutgers  College,  New  Jer- 
sey, conferred  on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D. 

Besides  several  pamphlets,  reviews,  and  addresses  pub- 
lished at  various  dates,  he  brought  out  in  1838  his  "  Pres- 
byterianism:  a  Review";  in  1850  his  "American  Admiral- 
ty ";  in  1863  "  The  Beginning  of  America  " — an  anniversary 
discourse  before  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  of  which 
he  had  long  been  an  active  member.  In  1867  he  brought 
out,  in  a  beautiful  form,  "  The  Hymn  of  Hildebert,  and 
other  Mediaeval  Hymns,  with  Translations  "  from  his  own 
pen — "the  agreeable  labor  of  occasional  hours  of  leisure. 
Several  of  them,"  he  says,  "  have  at  different  times,  during 
the  last  fifteen  years,  appeared  in  public  journals — ^literary 
and  religious."  The  translations  are  remarkably  true  to 
the  original ;  the  stanza,  metre,  and  double  rhymes  being 
faithfully  preserved. 


60  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  closing  portion  of  the  hymn  of  Hildebert,  beginning 
with  that  beautiful  strain, 

"  Urbs  ccelestis!  urbs  beata," 
fairly  exhibits  his  style  and  poetic  ability : 

' '  Heavenly  city !  bappy  dwelling ! 
Built  upon  tbat  stone  excelling : 
City  safe  in  beavenly  keeping ! 
Hail !  in.  distant  glory  sleeping ! 
Tbee  I  bail,  for  thee  am  sighing — 
Thee  I  love,  for  tbee  am  dying. 

How  thy  heavenly  hosts  are  singing — 
And  their  festive  voices  ringing — 
What  the  love  then-  souls  conforming — 
What  the  gems  the  walls  adorning — 
Chalcedon  and  jacinth  shining 
Know  they  all,  those  walls  confining. 

In  tbat  city's  glorious  meeting 
Moses  and  Elias  greeting — 
Holy  prophets  gone  before  us — 

Let  me  sing  the  heavenly  chorus." 


HENRY  BENNETT. 

1813-1868. 

The  year  before  his  death,  Mr.  Bennett,  of  London, 
published  an  unassuming  volume  with  the  simple  title, 
"  Hymns  by  H.  Bennett,  London,  1867." 

Mr.  Bennett  was  born  at  Lyme  Regis,  on  the  sea-coast  of 
Dorsetshire,  England,  April  18, 1813.  His  hymns  were  the 
fruit  of  his  leisure  hours,  and  many  of  them  appeared  occa- 
sionally in  various  publications.  His  death  occurred  No- 
vember 12, 1868,  at  Islington,  London.  The  last  two  double 
stanzas  of  the  hymn,  "  I  have  a  Home  Above,"  are  sub- 
joined : 

"But  more  than  all  I  long 
His  glories  to  behold, 


EICHARD  MEUX  BENSON.  61 

Wliose  smile  fills  all  that  radiant  throng 

With  ecstasy  untold. 
That  bright,  yet  tender,  smile — 

My  sweetest  welcome  there — 
Shall  cheer  me  through  the  little  while 

I  tarry  for  him  here. 

"  Thy  love,  thou  precious  Lord ! 

My  joy  and  strength  shall  be, 
Till  thou  shalt  speak  the  gladdening  word 

That  bids  me  rise  to  thee. 
And  then,  through  endless  days, 

Where  all  thy  glories  shine. 
In  happier,  holier  strains  I'll  praise 

The  grace  that  made  me  thine." 


EICHARD  MEUX  BENSOK 

Me.  Benson  was  a  scholar  of  Christ  Churcli  College,  Ox- 
ford, and  graduated,  B.A.,  November,  1847.  He  was  tlio 
successful  competitor  for  the  Kennicott  Hebrew  scholar- 
ship. He  was  ordained  deacon  June  18,  1848,  and  priest 
June  3, 1849,  by  the  Bishop  of  Oxford.  In  1850  he  was 
preferred  to  the  perpetual  curacy  of  St.  John's  Church, 
Cowley,  a  living  that  he  still  continues  to  hold. 

In  1865  he  was  visited  by  the  Eev.  Charles  C.  Grafton,  of 
Boston,  Mass.,  on  which  occasion  was  organized,  under  the 
patronage  of  Mr.  Benson,  because  of  his  "  high  social  posi- 
tion, wealth,  and  literary  attainments,  the  Society  called 
'  The  Cowley  Fathers.' "  This  Society  pledge  themselves  to 
renounce  the  world  and  devote  themselves  to  mission  work. 
"  They  have  all  things  in  common  ;  accept  no  salaries,  only 
a  provision  for  actual  support  in  an  economical  way ;  do 
not  marry ;  take  their  meals  in  silence ;  and  foUow  daily 
rules  of  devotion."     Their  principal  stations  are  Oxford, 


62  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

England,  and  Boston,  Mass.    Mr.  Benson  in  1870  returned 
"Father"  Grafton's  visit,  and  officiated  frequently  in  sev- 
eral of  the  Episcopal  dioceses  of  the  United  States. 
He  contributed  to  "  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern," 

"  Praise  to  God  wlio  reigns  above,"  etc., 

and  the  following  translation  of  "  Jesu,  Redemptor  omni. 
um,"  etc. : 

"  O  thou  whose  all-redeeming  might 

Crowns  every  chief  in  faith's  true  fight, 

On  this  commemoration  day 

Hear  us,  good  Jesu,  while  we  pray. 

"In  faithftd  strife  for  thy  dear  name 
Thy  servant  earned  the  saintly  fame, 
Which  pious  hearts  with  prayers  revere 
In  constant  memory  year  by  year. 

"  Earth's  fleeting  joys  he  counted  naught, 
For  higher,  truer  joys  he  sought. 
And  now,  with  angels  round  thy  throne, 
Unfading  treasures  are  his  own. 

"  O  grant  that  we,  most  gracious  Godl 
May  follow  m  the  steps  he  trod : 
And,  freed  from  every  stain  of  sin, 
As  he  hath  won  may  also  win. 

"To  thee,  O  Christ,  our  loving  King! 
All  glory,  praise,  and  thanks  we  bring ; 
Whom  with  the  Father  we  adore, 
And  Holy  Ghost,  for  evermore." 

As  an  author  he  is  favorably  known  by  the  following 
works  :  "The  Wisdom  of  the  Son  of  David,"  Pro  v.  i.-ix.  ; 
"  Redemption  :  some  of  the  Aspects  of  the  Work  of  Christ, 
considered  in  a  Course  of  Sermons  "  (1861) ;  "  The  Divine 
Rule  of  Prayer " ;  "  The  Manual  of  an  Association  for 
Prayer  on  Behalf  of  the  Unconverted"  (1862);  "Lays  of 
Memory,  Sacred  and  Social, by  a  Mother  and  Son";  besides 
several  single  Sermons,  and  a  Manual  of  Confirmation. 


BERNARD,   OF  CLAIRVAUX.  fi3 

BERNARD,  OF  CLAIRYAUX. 
1091-1153. 

Bernard's  hymns  are  among  the  purest,  sweetest,  and 
richest  of  Latin  hymnology.  His  master-piece,  "  De  Nom- 
ine Jesu,"  as  found  in  Daniel's  "Thesaurus  HjTnnolo- 
gicus,"  contains  forty-eight  four-line  stanzas.  Wacker- 
nagel,  in  his  "Das  Deutsche  Kirchenlied "  (1862),  gives 
eight  additional  stanzas. 

Bernard  was  bom  in  1091  at  Fontaine,  Burgundy,  a  vil- 
lage of  which  his  father,  Tecelin,  was  lord.  His  parents 
were  both  of  high  birth,  his  father  being  a  knight  of 
the  house  of  Chatillon,  and  his  godly  mother,  Alix,  or 
Alethe,  a  daughter  of  Count  Bernard,  of  Montbar.  He  was 
educated,  with  great  strictness  and  care,  at  Chatillon  on 
the  Seine  and  at  the  University  of  Paris.  The  loss  of  his 
mother,  in  his  twentieth  year,  determined  his  choice  of  a 
monastic  life.  He  had  five  brothers,  all  of  whom,  and 
twenty-five  other  young  men,  by  dint  of  faithful  and  per- 
severing effort,  he  induced  to  enter  with  him,  1113,  the 
monastery  of  Citeaux,  near  Dijon,  of  the  Order  of  Cister- 
cians, founded  1098.  A  rigid  compliance  with  the  rigorous 
rules  of  the  Order  soon  reduced  him  almost  to  a  skeleton. 
This  very  haggardness,  however,  gave  him  fame. 

At  the  end  of  two  years  he  was  sent  forth,  with  twelve 
other  monks,  to  found  a  new  monastery.  He  chose  a  wild 
gorge,  known  as  "  The  Valley  of  Wormwood,"  in  Cham- 
pagne, diocese  of  Langres,  a  noted  robber  haunt.  He  gave 
it  the  name  of  "  Clara  Yallis,"  whence  "  Clairvaux  " — "  The 
Beautiful  Valley."  As  Abbot  of  Clairvaux,  he  soon  be- 
came known  and  noted  throughout  Christendom.  Disci- 
ples flocked  to  him  fi'om  all  quarters.  Not  less  than  seven 
hundred  novitiates,  at  one  time,  were  attached  to  the  mon- 
astery. Of  his  pupils,  one  became  a  Pope ;  six.  Cardinals ; 
and  thirty.  Bishops.  Not  less  than  seventy-two  branches 
of  the  Order  were  founded  by  himself  in  France,  Spain,  and 


64  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Britain.  At  his  death,  the  Order  mimbered  one  hundred 
and  sixty  monasteries. 

By  his  learning,  his  energy,  his  austerity,  and  his  re- 
puted sanctity,  he  acquired  an  immense  influence.  His  ad- 
vice and  counsel  were  universally  sought,  and  his  preaching 
welcomed  with  enthusiasm.  He  was  summoned  repeatedly 
to  the  great  Councils  of  the  Church,  where  his  opinions 
were  hailed  as  the  perfection  of  wisdom.  The  great  schism 
in  the  Papacy  was  healed,  mainly  by  his  interposition, 
in  behalf  of  Innocent  II.  At  the  Conference  in  Sens, 
1140,  he  confronted  and  confounded  the  rationalizing 
Abelard.  The  great  crusade  of  1147  was  undertaken, 
chiefly  at  his  instigation,  by  Louis  YII.,  King  of  France. 
Worn  down  by  his  great  austerities  and  abundant  labors, 
he  died,  August  20, 1153,  at  the  Abbey  of  Clairvaux. 

His  literary  remains  were  published,  1515,  at  Venice,  in 
two  quarto  volumes,  and,  1645,  at  Paris,  in  five  folios. 
They  include  439  Letters,  340  Sermons  (principally  on 
"The  Song  of  Solomon,"  to  the  study  of  which  he  was 
greatly  addicted),  *and  12  Treatises.  Seven  considerable 
Poems  are  claimed  as  his,  written,  it  is  thought,  about 
1140. 

Twelve  years  after  his  death  he  was  canonized  by  the 
Pope,  and,  in  1174,  he  was  publicly  enrolled  among  "  The 
Saints."  Luther  said  of  him:  "If  there  has  ever  been  a 
pious  monk  who  feared  God,  it  was  St.  Bernard,  whom 
alone  I  hold  in  much  higher  esteem  than  aU  other  monks 
and  priests  throughout  the  globe." 


BERl^AED,  OF  MORLAIX. 

Beenaed  was  born  at  Morlaix,  in  Bretagne,  of  English 
parents.  Of  the  dates  of  his  birth  and  death,  and  of  the 
incidents  of  his  life,  nothing  is  now  known,  save  that  the 
most  of  his  life  was  spent,  in  the  twelfth  century,  at  Cluny, 


BERNARD,   OF  MORLAIX.  65 

on  the  little  river  Grone,  in  tlie  Department  of  Saone  et 
Loire,  in  a  valley  between  two  mountains,  about  200  miles 
southeast  of  Paris.  The  Abbey  had  acquired,  in  the  twelfth 
century,  great  renown.  Peter,  of  Cluny,  known  as  "  The 
Venerable,"  succeeded  Hugh  II.  as  General  of  the  Order 
and  Abbot  of  Cluny,  in  1121,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight 
years.  He  presided  over  the  monastery  until  his  death, 
December  24, 1156.  He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Bernard 
of  Clairvaux.  The  church  of  Cluny  was  then  regarded  as 
the  most  magnificent  in  France,  and  the  monastery  itself  as 
one  of  the  most  illustrious  in  Christendom. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  Bernard,  the  poet,  occupied  one 
of  the  cells  of  Cluny.  ^Yhen  not  employed  in  monastic 
duties  according  to  the  rules  of  his  Order,  he  occupied 
himself  in  the  cultivation  of  his  poetic  talent.  One  of  the 
happy  fruits  of  these  leisure  hours  is  the  divine  poem,  "  De 
Contemptu  Mundi."  It  is  an  elaborate  production  of  three 
thousand  lines,  peculiarly  constructed.  Every  line  is  a  hex- 
ameter of  five  dactyles  and  one  spondee,  after  the  following 
fashion : 

"  Tunc  nova  gloria  |  pectora  sobria      |  clarificabit : 
Solvit  enigmata     |  veraque  sabbata  |  continuabit. 
Patria  luminis        |  inscia  turbinis     |  inscia  litis, 
Give  replebitur       |  amplificabitur     |  Iraelitis. 

Thus  every  line  is  composed  of  three  parts,  the  second 
rhyming  with  the  first,  and  the  third  with  the  third  of  the 
following  or  preceding  line.  It  is  wonderfully  artistic. 
"  Our  language,"  says  Neale,  "  would  utterly  fail  to  give 
any  idea  of  the  majestic  sweetness  which  invests  it  in  Latin. 
Its  difficulty  in  that  language  is  such  that  Bernard,  in  a 
preface,  expresses  his  belief  that  nothing  but  the  special 
inspiration  of  the  Spirit  of  God  could  have  enabled  him  to 
employ  it  through  so  long  a  poem." 

The  author  shows  his  regard  for  his  superior,  "  Peter,  the 
Venerable,"  by  commending  the  work  to  his  favor  in  a  suit- 
able Dedication.  Of  its  Plan,  he  gives  the  following  ac- 
count : 

"  The  Subject  of  the  author  is— The  Advent  of  Christ  to 
5 


66  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Judgment ;  The  Joys  of  the  Saints ;  The  Pains  of  the  Rep- 
robate. His  Intention — To  persuade  to  the  Contempt  of 
the  World.  The  Use— To  despise  the  Things  of  the  World ; 
To  seek  the  Tilings  which  be  God's. "  Neale  calls  it  '•  a  bitter 
satire  on  the  fearful  corruptions  of  the  age.  But  as  a  con- 
trast to  the  misery  and  pollution  of  earth,  the  poem  opens 
with  a  description  of  the  peace  and  glory  of  heaven,  of  such 
rare  beauty  as  not  easily  to  be  matched  by  any  mediaeval 
composition  on  the  same  subject." 

The  first  portion  of  the  poem  has  been  happily  and  beau- 
tifully put  into  English  verse  by  the  Rev.  John  Mason 
ISTeale,  D.D.,  and  published  in  his  "Mediaeval  Hymns  and 
Sequences." 


JOHN  BERRIDGE. 
1716-1793. 

JoHisr  Beeeidge  was  the  eldest  son  of  a  wealthy  farmer 
and  grazier  of  Kingston,  Nottinghamshire,  England,  where 
he  was  born  March  1, 1716.  Tlie  greater  part  of  his  early 
years  he  spent  with  an  aunt  in  the  town  of  Nottingham, 
where,  also,  he  acquired  the  rudiments  of  a  common-school 
education.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  returned  home  and 
was  employed  on  the  farm.  But  such  was  his  inaptness 
for  agriculture  as  to  constrain  his  father  to  say  to  him, — 
"  John,  I  find  you  are  unable  to  form  any  practical  idea  of 
the  price  of  cattle,  and,  therefore,  I  shall  send  you  to  col- 
lege, to  be  a  light  to  the  Gentiles." 

About  this  time  he  was  hopefully  converted,  mainly  by 
the  agency  of  a  pious  companion  and  a  godly  tailor  of  the 
neighborhood.  He  now  gave  himself  to  study  and  devo- 
tion. After  a  suitable  preparatory  course,  he  entered  Clare 
Hall,  Cambridge,  October  28,  1734,  where  he  pursued  his 
studies  with  the  greatest  avidity.  He  graduated,  A.B.  in 
1738,  and  A.M.  in  1742.     Having  been  chosen  one  of  the 


JOHN  BEREIDGE.  67 

Fellows  of  his  college,  lie  contimied  his  residence  at  the 
University  for  twenty  years,  devoting  himself  to  literary 
pursuits,  and,  for  several  years,  exercising  his  gifts  as  a 
preacher.  His  remarkable  wit  and  humor  made  him  a  great 
favorite  in  the  University,  and  disiDOsed  him  to  a  familiarity 
with  Hudibras  and  other  humorous  publications.  At  the 
same  time  he  pursued  his  classical  studies  so  indefatigably 
as  to  compel  his  college  associate,  Rev.  Henry  Yenn,  with 
whom  he  was  intimate  for  fifty  years,  to  say  of  him,  that 
"  he  was  as  familiar  with  the  learned  languages  as  he  was 
with  his  mother  tongue."  During  his  residence  at  Clare 
Hall,  he  regularly  devoted  fifteen  hours  daily  to  the  acqui- 
sition of  knowledge. 

In  his  thirty-fourth  year  (1749),  he  accepted  the  curacy 
of  Stapleford,  a  small  village  of  rustics,  five  miles  south  of 
Cambridge.  He  served  them,  for  six  years,  from  the  Uni- 
versity, preaching  occasionally  at  St.  Mary's  Church,  Cam- 
bridge. By  the  presentation  of  his  associate  Fellows  of 
Clare  Hall,  he  was  admitted,  July  7, 1755,  to  the  vicarage 
of  Everton,  an  obscure  village  in  the  edge  of  Bedfordshire, 
about  twenty  miles  south-soiithwest  of  the  University. 
This  humble  position  he  retained  for  life. 

Thus  far  he  had  seen  but  little  fruit  of  his  ministry.  At 
an  early  period  of  his  college  residence,  he  had  so  far  im- 
bibed Socinian  views  as  to  intermit  private  prayer  most  of 
the  time  for  ten  years.  These  views,  however,  he  had  re- 
linquished before  entering  on  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
Still  he  clung  to  a  low  Arminianism,  and  preached  mainly 
a  legal  righteousness.  At  a  later  day  he  said  of  himself  : 
"  Once  I  went  to  Jesus  like  a  coxcomb,  and  gave  myself 
fine  airs, — fancying  if  he  was  something,  so  was  I;  if  he  had 
merit,  so  had  I.  And  I  used  him  as  a  healthy  man  will  use 
a  walking-staff — lean  an  ounce  upon  it,  or  vapor  with  it  in 
the  air.  But  now  he  is  my  whole  crutch  ;  no  foot  can  stir 
a  step  mthout  him." 

This  change  occurred  early  in  1758.  As  he  sat  mourn- 
fully musing  one  day,  perplexed  and  anxious  about  his  re- 
ligious state,  a  voice  seemed  to  say  to  him :  "  Cease  from 


68         THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

tliine  own  works;  only  believe."  At  once  Ms  burden  was 
gone,  and  lie  found  "  joy  and  peace  in  believing."  A  deep 
impression  was  now  made  on  the  hearts  of  his  parishioners 
by  the  presentation  of  his  ne^y  views.  They  crowded  the 
church,  and  not  a  few  were  hopefully  converted.  He 
burned  up  all  his  old  sermons,  began  to  preach  without 
notes,  and  abounded  in  labors  for  the  si)iritual  good  of  his 
people.  At  midsummer  he  began  to  itinerate  among  the 
villages  of  Bedfordshire,  Cambridgeshire,  and  Huntingdon- 
shire, nothing  daunted  by  the  rebukes  of  his  bishop,  and 
the  opposition  of  the  ungodly.  He  was  greatly  encouraged 
by  the  kind  words  of  John  Wesley  and  George  Whitefield, 
with  whom,  soon  after,  he  gladly  entered  into  delightful 
fellowship. 

A  wonderful  work  of  grace  ensued  in  1759.  No  church 
could  hold  the  crowds  that  flocked  to  hear  him.  "  He  took 
to  the  fields  "  (May  14, 1759),  and  preached  in  the  open  air  to 
thousands.  He  extended  his  circuit  to  Essex  and  Hertford, 
preaching  ten  and  twelve  times  a  week.  "  Ten  or  fifteen 
thousand,  at  some  places,  composed  his  congregation,  and 
he  was  well  heard  by  all  of  them.  People  came  to  hear 
him  from  the  distance  of  twenty  miles,"  reaching  Everton 
in  time  to  attend  his  morning  service  at  seven  o'clock. 
Four  times  on  the  Sunday,  and  often  through  the  week,  he 
preached  the  word.  Four  thousand  souls,  it  was  computed, 
were  converted  within  twelve  months  under  the  preaching 
of  himself  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hicks,  of  Wrestlingworth, — 
a  convert  under  Berridge's  preaching.  Romaine,  Madan, 
Venn,  Fletcher,  and  Lady  Huntingdon  visited  and  cheered 
him.  Opposition  showed  itself  in  the  most  violent  forms, 
but  he  gloried  in  tribulation. 

He  now  began  to  make  periodical  visits  to  London, 
Brighton,  and  Bath,  as  a  temporary  supply  for  White- 
field's  and  Lady  Huntingdon's  chapels.  In  1771,  he  es- 
I)Oused  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  Calvinism,  and  became 
a  frequent  contributor,  both  in  prose  and  verse,  to  The 
Gospel  Magazine,  associating  with  Newton,  Toplady,  Sim- 
eon, and  men  of  like  spirit.     He  suffered,  for  twenty-five 


JOHN  BERRIDGE.  69 

years,  from  acute  disease,  but  nothing  impeded  his  work  or 
abated  his  zeal.  He  died  of  asthma,  January  22, 1793,  at 
his  home  in  Everton. 

He  was  greatly  addicted  to  poetical  composition,  but  his 
verse  has  but  little  to  commend  it  to  a  refined  taste.  In 
1760  he  published  "  A  Collection  of  Divine  Songs,  designed 
chiefly  for  the  Religious  Societies  of  Churchmen  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Everton,  Bedfordshire."  It  was  a  compi- 
lation, mostly  from  Charles  Wesley,  with  a  few  from  Watts 
and  other  authors  (greatly  altered),  and  some  originals. 
After  the  change  in  his  doctrinal  views,  he  sought  to  sup- 
press this  publication,  buying  and  burning  every  copy  that 
he  could  obtain. 

In  1785  he  published  an  original  work  of  342  Hymns,  enti- 
tled "  Sion's  Songs  or  Hymns,  composed  for  the  Use  of  them 
that  love  and  follow  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  Sincerity." 
Of  its  origin,  he  says :  "  Hl-health,  some  years  past,  having 
kept  me  from  travelling  or  preaching,  I  took  up  the  trade 
of  Hymn-making,  a  handicraft  much  followed  of  late,  but 
a  business  I  was  not  born  or  bred  to,  and  undertaken  chiefly 
to  keep  a  long  sickness  from  preying  on  my  spirits,  and  to 
make  tedious  nights  pass  over  more  smoothly."  "  Twelve 
years  ago,  these  Hymns  were  comjDosed  in  a  six  months' 
illness."  "A  few  of  them  occasionally  rambled  into  maga- 
zines, under  the  signature  of  'Old  Everton.'"  Their  com- 
position, therefore,  is  to  be  referred  to  the  year  1773. 

The  best  of  these  is  the  popular  marriage  hymn, 

"  Since  Jesus  freely  did  appear," 

and  his  hymn  on  the  text,  Ps.  cxxxi.  2 : 

"Jesus !  cast  a  look  on  me, 
Give  me  sweet  simplicity, 
Make  me  poor  and  keep  me  low, 
Seeking  only  thee  to  know. 

"Weaned  from  my  lordly  self, 
Weaned  from  the  miser's  pelf. 
Weaned  from  the  scorn  er's  ways, 
Weaned  from  the  lust  of  praise. 


70  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

"  All  that  feeds  my  busy  pride, 
Cast  it  everraore  aside, 
Bid  my  "will  to  thine  submit, 
Lay  me  humbly  at  thy  feet. 

"Make  me  like  a  little  child, 
Of  my  strength  and  wisdom  spoiled, 
Seeing  only  in  thy  light, 
"Walking  only  in  thy  might. 

"Leaning  on  thy  loving  breast, 
Where  a  weary  soul  may  rest ; 
Feeling  well  the  peace  of  God 
Flowing  from  thy  precious  blood. 

"Li  this  posture  let  me  live, 
And  hosannas  daily  give ; 
In  this  temper  let  me  die. 
And  hosannas  ever  cry." 

The  first,  third,  and  fourth  of  these  stanzas  are  from  a  hymn 

by  Charles  Wesley  (altered)  on  Isa.  xxviii.  9,  beginning 

with — 

"  Lord !  that  I  may  learn  of  thee." 

Several  others  of  his  hymns  had  a  similar  origin. 

He  published  also,  in  1773,  "  The  Christian  World  Un- 
masked," an  exceedingly  quaint  and  thoroughly  evangel- 
ical book,  full  of  wit,  wisdom,  and  godly  counsel.  It  has 
had  a  verv  extensive  circulation. 


GEOKGE  WASHINGTON  BETHUNE. 

1805-1862. 

The  Rev.  Geoege  W.  Bethune,  D.D.,  the  Christian 
gentleman,  the  ripe  scholar,  the  graceful  poet,  and  the  elo- 
quent divine,  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  March  18, 
1805.  His  honored  father,  Divie  Bethune,  the  successful 
and  honest  merchant,  and  the  Christian  philanthropist,  was 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  BETHUNE.  71 

born  at  Dingwall,  Koss-shire,  Scotland,  in  1771,  and  was  of 
Huguenot  descent ;  lie  came  to  New  York  in  1792,  was  an 
elder  in  the  church  of  the  senior  Dr.  Mason  from  1802,  and 
died  September  18,  1824.  His  no  less  honored  mother, 
Joanna  Graham,  was  the  second  daughter  of  Dr.  John 
Graham,  of  Paisley,  Scotland,  and  Isabella  Marshall.  Mrs. 
Graham  came,  a  widow  with  four  children,  to  New  York, 
September,  1789,  and  united  with  the  same  church.  She  was 
"a  mother  in  Israel,"  and  of  the  highest  repute  for  piety, 
intelligence,  and  philanthropy— qualities  that  were  also 
strildngly  exemplified  in  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Bethune. 

Blessed  with  such  a  parentage,  George  was  trained  after 
the  model  of  the  word  of  God.  In  his  fifteenth  year  (1819), 
he  entered  Columbia  College,  where  he  diligently  prose- 
cuted his  studies  for  three  years.  He  then  entered  Dick- 
inson College,  Carlisle,  Pa.,  of  which  his  father's  friend,  the 
distinguished  John  M.  Mason,  D.D.,  was  then  the  Presi- 
dent. There  he  graduated  in  1823,  and  thence,  having  been 
converted  the  year  before,  proceeded  to  Princeton,  N.  J., 
where  he  studied  two  years  in  the  Theological  Seminary. 
He  married,  November  4,  1825,  Miss  Mary  Williams,  and 
spent  the  winter  in  the  West  Indies.  He  was  licensed  by 
the  Second  Presbytery  of  New  York,  July  11,  1826.  The 
following  November  he  went  to  Savannah,  Ga. ,  where  he 
labored  as  a  missionary  to  the  sailors  and  the  colored  peo- 
ple. Having  been  ordained  by  the  Second  Presbytery  of 
New  York  in  1827,  he  became  the  pastor  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  church  of  Rhinebeck,  N.  Y. ;  in  1830,  he  accepted  a 
call  to  the  R.  D.  church  of  Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  was  installed 
November  7,  1830  ;  in  September,  1834,  he  became  the  pas- 
tor of  the  First  R.  D.  church  of  Philadeli^hia.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1836  he  visited  Europe,  and,  on  his  return,  May, 
1837,  he  became  the  pastor  of  the  Tliird  church  of  the  same 
city.  Here  he  remained  until  1850,  having  visited  Europe 
a  second  time,  in  1841.  He  now  made  a  third  visit  to  the 
Old  World,  and,  on  his  return,  removed  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
and  took  charge  of  the  R.  D.  church  on  the  Heights.  The 
loss  of  health  compelled  him  to  s:o  abroad,  in  February, 


72  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

1859,  and  to  resign  Ms  pastorate  in  April,  1859.  On  Ms  re 
turn  lie  was  (ISTovember  20,  1859)  associated  with  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Abraham  R.  Van  Nest,  in  the  pastorate  of  the  Twenty- 
first  Street  R.  D.  church.  Again,  in  the  autumn  of  1861, 
he  sought  health  in  Europe,  but  death  overtook  him,  in  the 
shape  of  congestion  of  the  brain,  April  27,  1862.  He  died 
greatly  lamented,  as  he  had  been  greatly  honored  and  loved. 

"  He  stood,"  says  Dr.  Ferris,  "  in  the  front  rank  of  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel.  Originally  endowed  with  a  fine  mind, 
and  furnished  with  every  possible  facility  for  cultivating 
and  furnishing  it,  he  achieved  a  very  high  degree  of  success 
in  the  pulpit  and  elsewhere.  A  thorough  master  of  Eng- 
lish, of  finished  taste,  fertile  in  thought,  rich  in  illustra- 
tion, sldlled  in  dialectics,  familiar  with  the  stores  of  the 
past,  yet  with  a  quick  eye  to  the  present,  a  proficient  in 
helles-lettres,  he  had  almost  every  literary  requisite  for  the 
composition  of  sermons.  When  to  this  it  is  added,  that  he 
was  sound  in  the  faith,  and  had  his  heart  in  the  work ; 
that  he  had  a  most  musical  voice  of  rare  compass  and  mod- 
ulation, it  is  not  wonderful  that  his  reputation  stood  so 
high.  He  was  a  close  and  diligent  student,  and  never  was 
ashamed  to  confess  it.  His  platform  efforts  were  always 
impromptu,  but  for  the  pulpit  he  felt  conscientiously  bound 
to  make  careful  and  thorough  preparation."  "  He  had  a 
nice  ear  for  music,  and  sometimes  comjDosed  sacred  harmo- 
nies ;  he  had  a  fine  taste  in  painting  and  sculpture ;  he  was 
an  accomplished  Latinist  and  Grecian;  he  was  familiar  with 
a  number  of  modern  languages,  some  of  which  he  spoke 
fluently ;  he  was  well  read  in  the  history  of  philosophy,  and 
Ms  general  information  was  both  extensive  and  accurate." 

His  publications  were  numerous.  The  principal  are :  "  A 
Word  to  the  Afflicted";  "  The  Frmt  of  the  Spirit"  (1839) ; 
"Early  Lost,  Early  Saved"  (1846) ;  "The  History  of  a  Pen- 
itent" (1847) ;  "  Sermons"  (1847) ;  "A  Commentary  on  the 
130th  Psalm  "  (1847) ;  "  Lays  of  Love  and  Faith,  and  Other 
Poems "  (1848)  ;  "  Orations  and  Occasional  Discourses " 
(1850) ;  together  with  two  posthumous  works—"  The  Me- 
moirs of  Mrs.  Joanna  Bethune  "  (1863),  and  "  Lectures  on 


GEOEGE  WASHINGTON  BETHUNE.  73 

the  Heidelberg  Catechism,"  in  two  vols.  (1864).  He  edited; 
also,  an  edition  of  "  Walton's  Complete  Angler"  (1847),  and 
a  volume  of  "  British  Female  Poets  "  (1848),  with  biograph- 
ical and  critical  notices. 

He  was  repeatedly  honored  with  invitations  to  the  pas- 
torate, to  professorships,  and  presidencies  of  colleges. 
Many  of  the  published  "  Orations  "  were  delivered  at  col- 
lege commencements.  He  received  the  honorary  degree  of 
D.D.,  in  1838,  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Dr.  Bethnne,  with  his  characteristic  good  taste,  and  keen 
sense  of  the  beautiful  in  art,  successfully  cultivated  the 
poetic  Muse.  He  versified  with  great  ease  and  much  grace. 
Some  of  his  effusions  are  admirable  specimens  of  the  lyric 
art.  On  one  occasion,  having  taken  his  seat  in  the  pulpit 
in  advance  of  the  time  for  the  opening  of  the  public  ser- 
vice, his  longings  for  a  revival  of  religion  prompted  him  to 
write,  with  a  pencil,  on  a  scrap  of  paper,  the  hymn,  begin- 
ning with 

"  Oh. !  for  the  happy  hoxir ! " 
The  hymn, 

"  Come,  let  vis  sing  of  Jesus," 

was  written  for  his  Sunday- School. 

"  It  is  not  death  to  die," 

was  suggested  by  the  beautiful  hymn,  written  by  Csesar 

Malan, 

"  Non,  ce  n'  est  pas  mourir ! " 

His  Scotch  origin  is  beautifully  attested  in  a  lyric,  written 
after  hearing  Mr.  Dempster  sing,  two  stanzas  of  which 
follow : 

"  Oh !  sing  to  me  the  auld  Scotch  sangs, 
I'  the  braid  Scottish  tongue, 
The  sangs  my  father  loved  to  hear, 

The  sangs  my  mither  sung. 
When  she  sat  beside  my  cradle,  , 

►  Or  crooned  me  on  her  knee. 

An'  I  wad  na  sleep,  she  sang  so  sweet, 
The  auld  Scotch  sangs  to  me. 


74  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Sing  ony  o'  the  auld  Scotch  sangs, 

The  blythesome  or  the  sad : 
They  mak'  me  smile  when  I  am  wae, 

An'  greet  when  I  am  glad : 
My  heart  gaes  back  to  auld  Scotland, 

The  saut  tears  dim  mine  e'e, 
An'  the  Scotch  hluid  leaps  in  a'  my  veins, 

As  ye  sing  thae  sangs  to  me." 


EDWARD  BICKERSTETH. 

1786-1850. 

The  name  of  Bickersteth  is  of  hallowed  memory,  en- 
shrined in  the  hearts  of  intelligent  Christians  throughout 
Great  Britain  and  America.  He  was  born  March  19, 1786,  at 
Kirkby-Lonsdale,  Westmoreland,  England.  Henry  Bick- 
ersteth,  his  father,  was  a  respectable  surgeon ;  but  neither 
the  father,  nor  the  mother,  Elizabeth  Batty,  had  any  special 
interest  in  religion.  After  a  good  grammar-school  educa- 
tion, Edward,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  (January,  1801),  ob- 
tained a  position  in  the  Dead  Letter  Office,  London.  Nearly 
six  years  afterward  (I^Tovember,  1806),  he  was  articled  to 
Mr.  Bleasdale,  solicitor,  and  became  a  student  of  law,  first 
at  Hatton  Court,  and  then  (May,  1808)  at  New  Inn. 

In  his  twenty-first  year,  he  became  a  true  convert  to 
Christ,  but  continued  his  law  studies  and  pursuits  until 
May,  1812.  He  then  married  Miss  Sarah  Bignold,  of  Nor- 
wich, to  which  place  he  removed,  and  entered  into  business 
there  with  her  brother  Thomas.  Though  prosperity  at- 
tended him,  he  had  longing  desires  to  devote  himseK  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry.  For  years  he  abounded  in  works 
of  benevolence  and  piety,  and  prosecuted  theological  study. 
At  length,  in  his  thirtieth  year,  he  gave  up  his  worldly 
business,  and  was  ordained  deacon,  December  10, 1815,  by» 
the  Bishoj)  of  Norwich,  and  priest,  eleven  days  later,  by 
the  Bishop  of  Gloucester. 


EDWAED  BICKERSTETH.  75 

In  January,  1816,  lie  embarked  for  Africa,  on  an  official 
visit  to  the  stations  of  tlie  Cliurch  Missionary  Society  in 
Western  and  Southern  Africa.  He  returned  in  August  fol- 
lowing, and  the  next  month  he  accepted  the  position  of 
Resident  Secretary  of  the  Society,  or  Associate  Secretary 
with  the  Rev.  Josiah  Pratt.  In  this  laborious  service  he 
continued  nearly  fourteen  years,  ministering  at  the  same 
time  in  Wheler  Chapel,  Spitalfields,  London.  Appointed, 
August,  1830,  to  the  living  of  Watton,  Hertfordshire,  he 
resigned  his  Secretaryship,  and  entered  uiDon  a  course  of 
diligent  and  successful  parochial  labor.  In  the  faithful 
discharge  of  his  pastoral  duties,  in  the  preparation  and 
publication  of  numerous  evangelical  treatises  and  books,  in 
the  advocacy,  by  the  pen  and  in  person,  all  over  the  king- 
dom, of  the  Cause  of  Missions,  and  in  the  jDromotion,  by  all 
available  means,  of  the  Gospel,  he  passed  the  remaining 
twenty  years  of  a  most  busy  and  useful  life.  He  died  at 
Watton,  February  28,  1850,  full  of  faith  and  hope. 

He  made  a  diligent  use  of  the  press,  in  the  advancement 
of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  He  was  the  author,  compiler,  or 
editor  of  ninety-seven  different  publications,  of  which  the 
following  are  the  best  known :  "  A  Help  to  the  Study  of 
the  Scriptures"  (1814);  "A  Treatise  on  Prayer"  (1819); 
"A  Treatise  on  the  Lord's  Supper"  (1822) ;  "  The  Christian 
Hearer"  (1825);  "The  Christian  Student"  (1827);  "The 
Chief  Concerns  of  Man  for  Time  and  Eternity,"  a  Course  of 
Valedictory  Sermons  at  Wheler  Chapel  (1831) ;  "  Prepared- 
ness for  the  Day  of  Christ"  (1833) ;  "A  Practical  Guide  to 
the  Prophecies"  (1835);  "Christian  Truth"  (1838);  "A 
Treatise  on  Baptism "  (1839)  ;  "  The  Restoration  of  the 
Jews"  (1841);  "The  Divine  Warning  to  the  Church" 
(1843) ;  and  "  Family  Expositions  of  the  Epistles  of  St. 
John  and  St.  Jude  "  (1846).  His  "  Works,"  in  16  vols.,  were 
published  in  1853. 

His  j)oetic  efforts  were  limited  to  the  composition  of  a 
very  few  hymns  of  but  little  lyrical  merit,  found  in  his 
"Christian  Psalmody,"  compiled  in  1833,  and  enlarged  in 
1841.    In  its  latest  form  it  contains  950  hymns.    More  than 


76         THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

250,000  copies  of  this  book  have  been  circulated  in  Great 
Britain  and  its  Colonies.  The  426th  hymn  of  this  book, 
entitled  "The  Converted  Hindoo's  Hymn,"  is  from  Mr. 
Bickersteth's  pen.  Four  out  of  five  stanzas  are  here 
given : 

"  0  thou,  my  soul !  forget  no  more 
The  Friend  who  all  tliy  misery  bore; 
Let  every  idol  be  forgot ; 
But,  O  my  soul !  forget  him  not. 

"Renounce  thy  works  and  ways  with  grief, 
And  fly  to  this  most  sure  rehef  ; 
Nor  him  forget  who  left  his  throne, 
And  for  thy  life  gave  up  his  own. 

"Thy  Lord  for  thee  a  body  takes. 
Thy  guilt  assumes,  thy  fetters  breaks. 
Discharging  all  thy  dreadful  debt : 
And  canst  thou  e'er  such  love  forget? 

"Ah !  no,  tOl  life  itself  depart. 
His  name  shall  cheer  and  warm  my  heart ; 
And,  lisping  this,  from  earth  I'll  rise, 
And  join  the  chorus  of  the  skies." 


EDWARD  HENRY  BICKERSTETH. 

1825 . 

The  Bickersteth  family  have  been  considerably  addict- 
ed to  hymnology.  The  "Christian  Psalmody"  of  the 
Rev.  Edward  Bickersteth,  of  Watton,  has  just  been  noticed. 
His  elder  brother,  John,  Rector  of  Acton,  Suffolk,— father 
of  the  Right  Rev.  Robert  Bickersteth,  D.D.,  the  Bishop 
of  Ripon  since  1857,— published,  in  1819,  a  Collection  of 
"  Psalms  and  Hymns,  selected  and  revised,"  including  sev- 
eral of  his  own  composition.  Edward  Henry,  the  only  son 
of  Edward,  has  not  only  followed,  in  .this  respect,  his  father 


EDWAED  HENRY  BICKERSTETH.  77 

and  uncle,  but  has  also  developed  a  poetic  genius  denied  to 
them  both. 

He  was  born,  January  25, 1825,  at  Islington,  London.  He 
entered  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  in  1843,  and,  for  his 
skill  in  poetry,  was  awarded,  1844, 1845,  1846,  the  "  Chan- 
cellor's Medal."  The  prize  for  the  best  English  Essay  also 
was  awarded  to  him,  November,  1846.  He  graduated,  A.  B. , 
in  1847.  He  was  ordained  deacon,  February  6, 1848,  by  the 
Bishop  of  Norwich,  and  on  the  24th  was  married  to  Miss 
Rosa  Bignold,  a  maternal  relative.  Immediately  after,  he 
entered  upon  the  Curacy  of  Banningham,  Norfolk.  He  was 
ordained  priest,  February  4, 1849,— also  by  the  Bishop  of 
Norwich.  At  the  close  of  1851,  he  accepted  a  Curacy  at 
Tunbridge  WeUs,  a  watering  place  in  Kent.  His  stay  here 
was  short,  for  in  April,  1852,  he  obtained,  by  the  presenta- 
tion of  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  the  Rectory  of  Hinton- 
Martell,  Dorsetshire.  Here  he  remained  until  1855,  when 
he  was  preferred  to  the  living  of  Christ  Church,  Hamp- 
stead,  in  the  northern  suburbs  of  London,  where  he  has 
continued  to  reside  until  now.  In  1870  he  made  a  brief 
visit  to  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Bickersteth,  like  his  father,  has  had  much  to  do  with 
the  press.  He  has  published  the  following  valuable  works: 
"  Poems  and  Hymns  "  (1849) ;  "  Nineveh,  a  Poem  "  (1851) ; 
"  Water  from  the  Weil-Spring  for  the  Sabbath  Hours  of 
Afflicted  Believers  "  (1852);  "  Psalms  and  Hymns,  based  on 
the  '  Christian  Psalmody'  of  the  late  Edward  Bickersteth" 
(1858);  "A  Practical  Commentary  on  the  New  Testament" 
(1864);  "The  Rock  of  Ages,"  " Plain  Sunday  Readings  for 
Farm  Boys,"  "  Hades  and  Heaven "  (1865) ;  "  Yesterday, 
To-Day,  and  For  Ever— a  Poem  in  Twelve  Books"  (1867); 
"  The  Spirit  of  Life,"  and  "  The  Two  Brothers  and  Other 
Poems"  (1871).  The  latter  contains  many  of  his  earlier 
Poems,  Fugitive  Pieces,  and  Hymns,  several  of  them  bear 
ing  date  from  1844  to  1847,  and  written  at  coUege.  His 
principal  poem,  "  Yesterday,"  etc.,  is  an  epic  of  great  merit, 
descriptive  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  contains  passages 
of  great  beauty. 


78  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHTJECH. 

In  1858  lie  selected  about  400  liymns  from  Ms  father's 
Collection,  added  130  from  other  sources,  including  a  few 
of  his  own,  and  published  it  as  above.  Not  content  with 
this,  he  published,  in  1870,  "  The  Hymnal  Companion  to 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  a  book  of  400  carefully  se- 
lected and  laboriously  edited  Hymns.  The  "Annotated 
Edition,  with  Introduction  and  Notes,"  is  an  admirable  con- 
tribution to  Hjnnnology.     His  hymn  on  the  Trinity, 

"  Father  of  heaven  above," 

is  from  this  work.     The  following  two  double  stanzas  are 
taken  from  his  90th  hymn : 

"  O  brothers !  lift  your  voices, 

Triiunphant  songs  to  raise; 
Tin  heaven  on  high  rejoices, 

And  earth  is  filled  with  praise : 
Ten  thousand  hearts  are  bounding 

With  holy  hopes  and  free ; 
The  gospel-trump  is  sounding, 

The  trump  of  jubilee, 

"O  Christian  brothers!  glorious 

Shall  be  the  conflict's  close : 
The  cross  hath  been  victorious, 

And  shall  be  o'er  its  foes : 
Faith  is  our  battle-token ; 

Our  Leader  all  controls ; 
Our  trophies,  fetters  broken : 

Our  captives,  ransomed  souls." 


THOMAS  BLACKLOCK. 

1721-1791. 

The  blind  bard  of  Annan,  Kev.  Thomas  Blacklock,  D.D., 
was  the  son  of  a  bricklayer,  and  was  born,  November  10, 
1721,  of  English  parents,  at  Annan,  Scotland.     When  only 


THOMAS  BLACKLOCK.  79 

six  montlis  old,  lie  lost  his  sight  by  small-pox.  At  an  early 
age  lie  developed  a  remarkably  retentive  memory,  and  a 
great  thirst  for  knowledge.  He  had  a  passion  for  poetry, 
and  great  skill  in  versification.  The  best  literature  within 
his  father's  reach  was  read  to  him,  and  much  of  it  was  re- 
tained in  memory. 

He  was  deprived  of  his  father  in  his  nineteenth  year,  and 
thrown  npon  his  own  resources.  By  the  kindness  of  Dr. 
Stevenson,  a  physician  of  Edinburgh,  who  became  his  pa- 
tron, he  received  a  regular  course  of  instruction  (1741-1751) 
at  the  University  of  that  city.  He  thus  became  a  proficient 
in  the  Latin,  Greek,  French,  and  Italian  tongues,  as  well  as 
his  own.  A  volume  of  his  poems  was  published  in  1745 
at  Glasgow,  and  another  in  1754.  Thereupon,  the  Eev.  Jo- 
seph Spence,  of  Oxford,  England,  published  "  An  Account 
of  the  Life,  Character,  and  Poems  of  Mr.  Blacklock,  Stu- 
dent of  Philosophy  at  Edinburgh,"  which  was  also  prefixed 
to  a  quarto  edition  of  his  Poems,  issued  in  1756.  After  a 
three  years'  course  of  theological  study  at  the  Divinity 
Hall,  Edinburgh,  he  was  licensed,  in  1758,  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Dumfries,  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

On  his  presentation,  in  1760,  by  the  Earl  of  Stirling,  to 
the  parish  of  Kirkcudbright,  his  settlement  was  opposed  by 
the  parishioners  on  account  of  his  blindness.  The  case  was 
carried  to  the  Presbytery  of  Kirkcudbright,  then  by  ref- 
erence to  the  Synod  of  Galloway,  and  thence  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1761.  After  a  full  hearing  of  the  case, 
the  Assembly  ordered.  May  29th,  his  induction  by  the  Pres- 
bytery. Owing  to  the  continued  opposition  of  his  parish- 
ioners, he  accepted,  at  the  end  of  three  years,  an  annuity, 
resigned  his  living,  and  removed  to  Edinburgh.  Having 
married  Miss  Johnston,  a  surgeon's  daughter,  of  Dumfries, 
he  opened  a  boarding-school,  and  secured  considerable  pa- 
tronage. The  University  of  Aberdeen,  in  1766,  conferred 
on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

He  published,  besides  the  "  Poems  "  already  noticed  and 
several  "  Sermons,"  "  Essays  toward  Universal  Etymology" 


80  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

(1756);  ''  Paraclesis,  or  Consolations  deduced  from  Natural 
and  Revealed  Religion "  (1767) ;  "  Two  Discourses  on  the 
Spirit  and  Evidences  of  Christianity "  (1768) ;  a  satirical 
"  Panegyiic  on  G-reat  Britain  "  (1773) ;  "  The  Graham,  an 
heroic  Ballad "  (1774);  "Remarks  on  the  Nature  and  Ex- 
tent of  Liberty  "  (1776),  suggested  by  the  American  War ; 
and  an  Article  in  the  JEncyclopwdia  Britannica  (1778)  on 
the  "  Education  of  the  Blind." 

Edmund  Burke  said  of  him:  "Few  men,  blessed  with 
the  most  perfect  sight,  can  describe  visual  objects  with 
more  spirit  and  justness  than  this  blind  man."  John  Wes- 
ley regarded  his  version  of  the  104th  Psalm  as  "  the  finest 
in  the  English  language."  The  closing  paragraph  of  this 
version,  which  is  written  throughout  in  heroic  pentameters, 
vdll  fairly  exhibit  his  style : 

"  Wliile  this  immortal  '  spark  of  heavenly  flame' 
Distends  my  breast  and  animates  my  frame, 
To  Thee  my  ardent  praises  shall  he  borne 
On  the  first  breeze  that  wakes  the  blusliing  morn ; 
The  latest  star  shall  hear  the  pleasmg  sound, 
And  nature  in  full  choir  shall  join  around. 
When,  full  of  Tlaee,  my  soul  excursive  flies 
Through  earth,  air,  ocean,  or  thy  regal  skies, 
From  world  to  world  new  wonders  still  I  flnd. 
And  all  the  Godhead  flashes  on  my  mind ; 
When,  winged  with  whirlwinds,  vice  shall  take  its  flight 
To  the  deep  bosom  of  eternal  night. 
To  Thee  my  soul  shall  endless  praises  pay : — 
Join,  men  and  angels !  join  th'  exalted  lay !  " 

Dr.  Blacklock's  "  Braes  of  Ballenden,"  a  popular  song, 
has  ever  been  a  great  favorite  with  his  countrymen.  He 
died,  July  7,  1791,  of  nervous  fever,  at  Edinburgh.  An 
edition  of  his  "  Poems  "  was  published  two  years  after  his 
death. 


JAMES  BODEN.  81 

JAMES  BODEN. 

1757-1841. 

The  Rev.  James  Boden  was  born  at  Chester,  England, 
April  13,  1757,  in  the  house  where  Matthew  Henry  wrote 
his  Justly-renowned  Commentary  on  the  Bible.  Under  the 
ministry  of  the  Rev.  M.  J,  Armitage,  he  became,  at  four- 
teen, a  serious  Christian,  and  at  sixteen  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  church,  worshijoping  in  an  upper  room, 
Common  Hall  St.,  Chester.  Full  of  zeal  and  devotion,  he 
sought  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  Four  years  (1779-1783) 
were  spent  at  Homerton  College.  In  1784  he  was  installed 
the  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  of  Hanley,  a  vil- 
lage of  potteries  in  Staffordshire.  In  November,  1796,  he 
became  the  successor  of  the  Rev.  Josiah  Brewer,  in  the 
pastorate  of  the  Independent  church,  Queen  Street,  Shef- 
field. More  than  forty-two  years  he  served  this  church 
with  great  ability  and  fidelity.  At  the  age  of  eighty-two 
years  (1839)  he  resigned  his  charge,  and  retired  to  Chester- 
field, in  Derbyshire,  where,  full  of  peace  and  joyful  hope, 
he  passed  away,  June  4, 1841,  in  the  85th  year  of  his  age, — 
one  of  the  very  last  survivors  of  the  Founders  of  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society.  He  was  an  eminently  godly  man, 
and  a  most  useful  minister  of  Christ. 

He  contributed  to  the  February  number  of  The  Gospel 
Magazine  for  1777  the  hymn, 

"  Ye  djdng  sons  of  men," 

written  to  be  sung  after  a  charity  sermon;  and  to  the  Au- 
gust number  of  the  London  Evangelical  Magazine  for 

1798, 

"  Bright  Soui'ce  of  Everlasting  love." 

In  the  compilation,  "  A  Collection  of  above  Six  Hundred 
Hymns,  designed  as  a  New  Supplement  to  Dr.  Watts' 
Psalms  and  Hymns.     Doncaster,  1801,"  he  was  associated 
with  the  Rev.  Edward  Williams,  D.D.,  of  Rotherham  Col 
6 


82  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

lege.     Seven  of  the  hymns  were  from  Ms  own  pen.    The 
compilation,  for  that  period,  was  one  of  great  merit. 

Among  his  earlier  productions,  the  following  stanzas,  be- 
ing part  of  a  hymn  contributed  to  the  August  number  of 
The  Gospel  Magazine  for  1777,  fairly  exhibit  his  style : 

.   "  High  in  the  shining  courts  above 
Eeigns  God,  the  sovereign  King, 
And  angels,  round  his  throne  of  love, 
Sweet  hallelujahs  sing. 

"  He  sees  where  youthfiil  hearts  unite, 
And  form  a  social  band ; 
And  Jesus  ever  takes  delight 
To  guide  them  with  his  hand. 

"  Their  conversation  and  their  prayers 
Are  music  in  his  ears ; 
His  smiles  dispel  their  gloomy  cares, 
And  dissipate  their  fears. 

"  Oh!  how  they  scorn  these  sordid  charms 
Which  carnal  minds  pursue ! 
Celestial  love  their  bosom  warms 
With  bliss  forever  new. 

"The  shining  of  Jehovah's  grace, 
And  Jesus'  bleeding  love, 
Allure  them  through  this  wilderness 
To  brighter  joys  above." 


HOKATIUS  BONAR. 

1808 . 


The  Rev.  Hoeatius  Bonae,  D.D.,  the  poet  of  the  mod- 
ern sanctuary,  is  the  son  of  James  Bonar,  and  was  born, 
December  19, 1808,  at  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  He  comes  of 
a  godly  and  clerical  ancestry.  His  grandfather,  the  Rev. 
John  Bonar,  was  the  author  of  several  hymns  published  in 


HORATIUS  BONAR.  83 

1765.  The  grandson  was  educated  at  the  High-School,  and 
the  University,  Edinburgh.  In  the  study  of  theology  he 
was  a  puxjil  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chalmers.  In  1837  he  was  or- 
dained the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Kelso,  on 
the  Tweed,  near  the  English  border,— previously  under  the 
charge  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Lundie,  whose  daughter,  Jane 
Catharine,  sister  of  Mary  Lundie  Duncan,  he  married. 
Two  years  after  his  settlement  he  began  the  publication 
and  cii'culation  of  the  famous  "  Kelso  Tracts, "  of  one  of 
which,  "Believe  and  Live,"  nearly  or  quite  a  million  of 
copies  have  been  issued. 

In  the  early  days  of  his  ministry,  he  and  his  brother,  Rev. 
Andi'ew  A.  Bonar,  now  of  Glasgow,  were  intimately  associ- 
ated with  that  burning  and  shining  light,  Robert  Murray 
McCheyne,  pastor  of  St.  Peters  church,  Dundee.  They 
were  men  of  like  spirit,  and  Horatius  labored  at  Kelso 
much  as  McCheyne  did  in  Dundee.  The  great  revival  of 
religion,  that  began  at  Kilsyth  in  1839,  spread  to  Dundee 
and  Kelso,  and  was  greatly  promoted  by  the  "Tracts"  as 
well  as  the  preaching  of  Horatius  Bonar.  At  the  disruption 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  May,  1843,  he  freely  and 
heartily  cast  in  his  lot  \\ith  the  Free  Church,  of  which  he 
has  ever  since  been  one  of  the  most  ardent  and  faithful 
supporters.  Since  1866  he  has  been  the  pastor  of  the 
Grange,  or  "  Chalmers  Memorial,"  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Edinburgh. 

The  publications  of  Dr.  Bonar  are  characterized  by  in- 
tense spirituality  and  ardent  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
Christ.  "  Truth  and  Error  "  appeared  in  1846;  "  The  Night 
of  Weeping,"  in  1846;  "  The  Coming  and  Kingdom  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  in  1849;  "The  Morning  of  Joy,"  in 
1850  ;  "  The  Blood  of  the  Cross  "  foUowed.  Then  "  Man, 
his  Religion  and  his  World  "  (1854) ;  "  Prophetical  Land- 
marks" (1854);  "The  Desert  of  Sinai"  (1857);  "The  Land 
of  Promise"  (1858);  "Earth's  Tliirst  and  Heaven's  Water 
Springs"  (1860);  "God's  Way  of  Peace"  (1862);  "God's 
Way  of  Holiness"  (1864);  and,  the  same  year,  "The  Word 
of   Promise,"   "The  Eternal  Day,"   "A  Stranger  Here," 


84         THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Fifty-two  Short  Sermons  for  Family  Reading  "  followed. 
"Light  and  Truth— Bible  Thoughts  and  Themes"  appeared 
in  1868.  He  has  edited  for  a  long  period  The  Journal  of 
Prophecy,  and  succeeded  the  Rev.  Andi^ew  Cameron  as 
editor  of  The  Christian  Treasury.  He  has  made  numer- 
ous contributions  to  other  religious  periodicals. 

He  is,  however,  better  known  as  the  author  of  many  of 
the  sweetest  hymns  commonly  used  in  the  service  of  God. 
His  hymnological  publications  are  "  Songs  for  the  Wilder- 
ness," two  series  (1843-4);  "  The  Bible  Hymn-Book"  (1845); 
"Hymns  Original  and  Selected"  (1850);  "Hymns  of  Faith 
and  Hope,"  first  series  (1857),  second  series  (1861),  third 
series  (1866).  In  1852  he  published  "  The  New  Jerusalem, 
a  Hymn  of  the  Olden  Time."  Some  of  his  hymns  "were 
written  in  Kelso,  some  in  Edinburgh,  some  in  railway 
trains.  No  note  was  taken  of  the  dates  of  their  com- 
position." 

His  appearance  in  the  pulpit  is  "  grand,  massive,  almost 
imposing,  but  thoroughly  genial  and  tender  in  every  line 
and  movement  of  face  and  eye."  The  following  stanzas, 
from  the  third  series  of  his  "  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope," 
are  quite  characteristic  of  his  muse : 

"Upward,  where  the  stars  are  burning, 
Silent,  silent,  in  their  turning 

Round  the  never-changing  pole : 
Upward,  where  the  sky  is  brightest, 
Upward,  where  the  blue  is  lightest, 

Lift  I  now  my  longing  soul. 

*  Far  above  that  arch  of  gladness, 
Far  beyond  these  clouds  of  sadness, 

Are  the  many  mansions  fair ; 
Far  from  pain  and  sin  and  folly, 
In  that  palace  of  the  holy, — 

I  would  find  my  mansion  there. 

"Where  the  glory  brightly  dwelleth, 
Where  the  new  song  sweetly  swelleth, 

And  the  discord  never  comes ; 
Where  life's  stream  is  ever  laving, 
And  the  palm  is  ever  waving ; — 
That  must  be  the  home  of  homes." 


JANE  CATHAEINE  [LUNDIE]  BONAE.  85 


JANE  CATHARINE  [LUNDIE]  BONAR. 

Mrs.  BoisrAR  is  tlie  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  Robert 
Lundie,  in  whose  delightful  manse  at  Kelso,  Scotland,  the 
Rev.  Matthias  Bruen,  of  New  York,  found  such  a  pleasant 
and  genial  home.  "  I  have  acquired  at  Kelso,"  says  Bruen, 
September  22,  1817,  "  at  least  one  of  the  kindest '  friends, 
which,  so  long  as  sin  is  in  this  world,  we  can  hope  God  will 
give  us  to  comfort  us  in  our  state  of  pilgrimage,"  Mrs. 
Lundie,  the  excellent  mother  of  Mrs.  Bonar,  compiled  the 
Memoirs  of  Mr.  Bruen;  but  she  is  far  better  known  as  the 
mother  of  "  Mary  Lundie  Duncan,"  whose  Memoir,  also,  she 
so  lovingly  wrote.  From  that  exquisite  story  of  a  lovely 
life  may  be  learned  something  of  the  charms  of  that  home, 

"  Where  Tweed  flows  on  in  silver  sheen, 
And  Tiviot  feeds  her  valley  green  " ; 

where  the  younger  sister,  Jane,  was  born,  and  passed  her 
youthful  days.  In  April,  1832,  she  was  deprived  of  her 
godly  father,  and  in  the  autumn,  with  her  widowed  mother, 
her  elder  sister,  and  brother,  she  found  a  home  in  Edin- 
burgh. In  1835,  she  was  sent  to  a  school  in  London,  and 
found  a  land  friend  in  Mrs.  Evans,  the  endeared  friend  of 
her  sister  Mary.  On  her  return,  she  was  much  with  lier 
sister  a,t  the  manse  in  Cleish,  until  1840,  when  Mary  died. 
She  now  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Horatius  Bonar,  and 
an  occupant,  as  mistress  of  the  manse  of  Kelso,  of  the  place 
of  her  birth  and  infantile  life.  Here  she  continued  to  reside 
until  her  husband's  removal,  in  1869,  to  Edinburgh, — her 
present  home. 

Like  her  gifted  sister,  Mrs.  Bonar  not  unfrequently  gives 
expression  to  her  thoughts  in  sacred  verse.    The  hymn, 

"Pass  away,  earthly  joy  ! "  etc., 

first  appeared  (1843)  in  "  Songs  for  the  Wilderness."  It 
found  a  place,  also,  two  years  after,  in  "  The  Bible  Hymn 
Book,"  compiled  by  her  husband. 


86  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 


JAIS'E  BORTHWICK. 

Miss  Janb  Borthwick  is  of  Scotch  birth  and  descent. 
Tlie  name  of  Borthwick  is  purely  Scotch.  Her  sister  is  the 
wife  of  the  Rev.  Eric  J.  Findlater,  minister  of  the  Free 
Chnrch  of  Balqnhidder,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Dunblane,  of 
a  family  well  known  in  the  annals  of  the  Scotch  Church. 
The  two  sisters  early  became  interested  in  German  hymn- 
ology.  Several  excellent  translations  from  the  German 
were  given  to  the  public,  with  the  title  of  "  Hymns  from 
the  Land  of  Luther,"  through  the  press  of  Kennedy,  Edin- 
burgh, in  1854.  Others  followed  in  four  series.  The  whole 
were  published  together  in  1862.  Miss  Borthwick  in  1859 
published,  also,  her  "Thoughts  for  Thoughtful  Hours." 
She  has  also  contributed,  under  the  signature  of  "  H.  L. 
L.,"  frequent  poetic  articles  to  "The  Family  Treasury." 
Her  latest  work,  "Alpine  Lyrics:  a  Selection  from  the 
Poems  of  Meta  Heusser-Schweizer,"  appeared  in  Novem- 
ber, 1874. 

The  translations  occupy  "  a  somewhat  dijfferent  field  from 
the  Lyi^a  Germanica,"  by  Miss  Winkworth, "  dealing  mostly 
with  hymns  of  a  more  modern  and  less  congregational  cast, 
and  representing  several  writers  whose  names  do  not  ap- 
peai'  in  the  Lyra  Germanica."  "A  few  of"  them  "may  be 
considered  as  rather  imitations  than  translations,  although 
the  ideas  and  structure  are  too  much  borrowed  to  allow 
them  to  be  called  original." 

The  hymn,  "Jesus,  Son  of  Righteousness,"  is  a  transla- 
tion of 

"  Morgenglanz  der  Ewigkeit,"  etc., 

by  Christian  Knorr  von  Rosenroth  (1616-1689),  of  Silesia. 
"  A  pilgrim  and  a  stranger,"  is  a  version  of 

"  Ich  bin  ein  Gast  auf  Erden,"  etc., 

by  Paul  Gerhardt  (1606-1676),  of  Saxony.     "  My  Jesus,  as 
thou  wilt,"  is  a  version  of 

"  Main  Jesu!  wie  du  wiUst,"  etc., 


ANTOINETTE  BOUEIGNON.  87 

by  Benjamin  Schmolke  (1672-1737),  also  of  Silesia.  This 
translation  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  late  Rev.  Dr. 
Thomas  H.  Skinner,  of  New  York,  as  it  is  with  many 
other  devout  Christians.  "  Rejoice,  all  ye  believers,"  is  a 
popular  version  of 

"  Ermuntert  euch,  ihr  Frommen,"  etc., 

by  Laurentius  Laurenti  (1660-1722),  of  Holstein.     [See  Ro- 

SENROTH,  GeRHARDT,  ScHMOLKE,  LaURENTI.] 

The  subjoined  stanzas  are  Miss  Borthwick's  version  of 

Spitta's 

"  Der  Cliristen  Schmuck  und  Ordensband,"  etc. : 

"  The  Christian's  badge  of  honor  here 
Has  ever  been  the  cross ; 
And,  when  its  hidden  joys  appear, 
He  counts  it  gaia,  not  loss. 

"  He  bears  it  meekly,  as  is  best. 
While  struggling  here  with  sin ; 
He  wears  it  not  upon  his  breast, 
Ah !  no ;  it  is  within. 

*'  And  if  it  bring  him  pain  or  shame, 
He  takes  it  joyfully ; 
For  well  he  knows  from  whom  it  came. 
And  what  its  end  shall  be. 

*'  Only  a  little  while  'tis  borne. 
And  as  a  pledge  is  given 
Of  robes  of  triumph,  to  be  worn 
Forevermore  in  heaven." 


ANTOINETTE  BOURIGNON. 

1616-1680. 

4 

At^toinette  Bourignon  was  a  French  mystic  of  the 
seventeenth  century.    She  was  the  daughter  of  Jean  Bou- 


88  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

rignon  and  Marguerite  Beckwart,  of  Lisle,  Flanders,  whero 
slie  was  born,  January  13,  1616.  Her  deformity  as  an  in- 
fant was  so  great  as  to  create  an  aversion  to  lier,  even  in  the 
minds  of  her  parents.  But,  with  advancing  years,  she  de- 
veloped no  little  sprightliness  of  mind.  At  an  early  age 
she  became  fascinated  with  books  of  devotion,  and  was 
attracted  to  a  life  of  celibacy.  At  twenty,  she  was  prom- 
ised by  her  parents,  in  marriage,  to  a  French  merchant.  To 
escape  it,  she  fled  from  home,  in  male  disguise,  to  the  village 
of  Basseck.  Her  disguise  being  discovered,  she  was  ex- 
posed to  indignities,  but  was  protected  by  the  parish 
priest.  By  his  advice  and  that  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cam- 
bray,  she  returned  home. 

Another  attempt  to  give  her  in  marriage,  three  years 
later,  induced  her  to  leave  her  parents  again,  and  take  ref- 
uge at  Mons,  under  the  protection  of  the  Archbishop.  On 
the  occasion  of  her  mother's  fatal  illness,  she  once  more  re- 
turned home,  and  remained  until  her  father's  death,  in  1648. 
New  suitors  now  sought  her  hand  and  wealth,  but  she  re- 
sisted their  importunities,  and  devoted  herself  to  a  single 
life. 

Desirous  of  doing  good  with  her  worldly  means,  she  took 
charge  (1653)  of  a  foundling  hospital  at  Lisle.  In  1658,  she 
joined  the  order  of  Augustines.  Not  long  after,  with  oth- 
ers of  the  house,  she  was  accused  of  sortilege,  and,  in  1662, 
she  again  left  home.  Four  years  were  spent  at  Ghent  and 
Malines.  Thence,  in  1667,  she  repaired  to  Amsterdam, 
where,  by  her  numerous  tracts  and  discourses,  she  soon 
attracted  great  attention.  Renouncing  her  connection 
with  the  Church  of  Rome,  she  claimed  a  divine  commis- 
sion to  found  a  new  and  pure  communion.  Among  her 
converts  was  Christian  de  Cordt,  a  Jansenist  priest,  who 
I)urchased,  as  a  retreat  for  her  community,  the  island  of 
Noordtstrandt,  in  the  Holstein,  bequeathing  it  to  her  at  his 
death,  in  1069.  Thither  she  retired  in  1671,  and  established 
a  printing  jiress,  by  means  of  which  she  issued  a  large  num- 
ber of  tracts  in  French,  Dutch,  and  German.  Her  opposi- 
tion to  the  priesthood,  and  the  extravagance  of  some  of 


ANTOINETTE  BOUEIGNON.  89 

her  mystic  theories,  made  her  an  object  of  persecution. 
She  withdrew  in  consequence  (1676)  to  Hamburg,  and 
then  to  East  Frisland.  But,  finding  no  rest,  she  set  out  to 
return  to  Holland.  On  the  way,  she  was  overtaken  with  a 
fatal  disorder,  and  died,  October  30, 1680,  at  FranMort. 

Her  "Works"  were  published  (1686)  in  nineteen  vol- 
umes. Peter  Poiret,  a  Cartesian,  one  of  her  admirers,  re- 
duced her  mysticisms  to  a  systematic  form,  and  published 
them,  in  1705,  at  Frankfort,  by  the  name  of  "  Oeconomise 
Divin^e  libri  VI."  An  English  translation  of  one  of  her 
most  important  works,  "  La  Lumiere  du  Monde  "— "  The 
Light  of  the  World :  a  most  True  Relation  of  the  Pil- 
grimess  M.  Antonia  Bourignon,  Travelling  towards  Eter- 
nity," (London,  1696)  — met  with  a  ready  sale  in  Great 
Britain,  and  gained  her  adherents  even  in  Scotland.  At 
one  time,  such  was  the  influence  of  her  doctrines,  candi- 
dates for  the  Presbyterian  ministry  were  required  to  de- 
nounce Bourignonism.  For  twenty  years,  it  was  her  boast, 
that  she  had  not  read  a  word  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  hymn,  "  Yene's,  Jesus !  mon  Salutaire,"  was  written  at 
an  early  period  of  her  career  (1640),  when  she  renounced 
the  world  for  a  religious  life.  In  the  original  it  has  five 
double  stanzas.  It  has  much  of  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel. 
The  translation  has  been  erroneously  claimed  for  Dr.  John 
Byrom  (1723-1786).  John  Wesley's  translation  has  eight 
stanzas— the  third,  sixth,  and  seventh  being  usually  omit- 
ted.    They  are  as  follows : 

' '  "WTiile  in  this  region  here  below, 
No  other  good  will  I  pursue ; 
I'U  bid  this  world  of  noise  and  show, 
With  all  its  glittering  snares,  adieu. 

"  Wealth,  honor,  pleasure,  and  what  else 
This  short-enduring  world  can  give, 
Tempt  as  ye  will,  my  soul  repels ; 
To  Christ  alone  resolved  to  live. 

"  Thee  I  can  love,  and  thee  alone. 

With  pure  delight  and  inward  bliss ; 
To  know  thou  tak'st  me  for  thine  own, 
Oh  1  what  a  happiness  is  this ! " 


90  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

HUGH  BOURNE. 
1772-1852. 

Hugh  Bouene  was  born,  April  7,  1772,  at  Fordhays, 
Staffordslaire,  England.  At  an  early  day,  his  parents,  who 
were  Methodists,  removed  with  him  to  Bemersley,  in  the 
same  county.  He,  too,  Joined  the  Methodists  at  Ridgway, 
in  1799.  He  had  become  a  timber-merchant,  but  now  gave 
much  time  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  theological  books. 
In  1801,  he  began  to  preach  as  an  evangelist,  and  three 
years  later,  in  company  with  William  Clowes,  he  went 
everj^where,  preaching  the  word,  throughout  the  district. 

Having  heard,  from  America,  what  a  gracious  work  had 
been  accomplished  there  by  Camp-Meetings,  he  introduced 
the  system  into  Staffordshire.  The  measure  was  opposed 
by  the  Wesleyan  Conference,  and  Bourne,  in  consequence, 
was  expelled  (1808),— as  was  Clowes,  in  1810.  The  year  fol- 
lowing, they  organized  the  first  Primitive  Methodist  Society 
at  Tunstall.  The  enterprise  met  with  favor.  Societies  mul- 
tiplied. A  magazine  was  started  in  1818,  and  a  book-room 
opened  in  1821,  at  Bemersley.  In  1822,  was  published,  "A 
Collection  of  Hymns  for  Camp-Meetings,  Revivals,  etc.,  for 
the  Use  of  the  Primitive  Methodists.  By  Hugh  Bourne." 
It  contained  154  hymns,  fifteen  of  which  were  from  Mr. 
Bourne's  pen.  Three  years  later  a  "  Large  Hymn  Book, 
for  the  Use  of  the  Primitive  Methodists,  by  Hugh  Bourne," 
was  issued,  containing  636  hymns,  nineteen  of  which  are 
attributed  to  "Bourne,"  and  148  to  "Bourne  and  Wm. 
Sanders."  Mr.  Bourne's  poetry  has  little  save  its  fervor 
and  piety  to  commend  it.  After  a  laborious  and  very  suc- 
cessful ministry,  he  died,  October  11, 1852,  at  Bemersley,  at 
the  age  of  fourscore  years.  The  following  stanzas  from  hia 
pen  might  be  used  of  himself : 

"Enoch,  the  seventh,  walked  with  God, 
Through  a  long  course  of  years ; 
He  rested  on  the  Saviour's  blood, 
While  in  this  vale  of  tears. 


SIR  JOHN  BOWRING.  91 

*'  While  here  on  earth  he  lived  by  faith, 
And  grew  in  perfect  love ; 
By  faith  he  triumphed  over  death, 
And  rose  to  heaven  above. 

"  May  we,  like  Enoch,  walk  with  God, 
And  in  his  image  grow ; 
Still  live  by  faith  in  Jesus'  blood, 
And  speak  his  praise  below." 


SIR  JOHN  BOWRING. 
1792-1872. 

Sir  John  Bowelng  was  a  man  of  eminent  abilities,  and 
great  attainments.  As  a  linguist,  an  essayist,  a  poet,  a  phi- 
lologist, a  philosoplier,  a  magistrate,  a  parliamentarian,  and 
a  diplomatist,  lie  was  long  and  favorably  known  to  tlie  Brit- 
isli  people.  He  was  of  an  ancient  family  of  Devonshire, 
who  gave  their  name  to  the  estate  of  Bowringsleigh,  in  the 
parish  of  Alphington,  where  the  son  was  born,  October  17, 
1792.  His  father  was  a  wool-trader,  and  a  dissenter.  His 
studies  were  conducted  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Lant 
Carpenter,  LL.D.,  the  Unitarian  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  Exeter  (1805-1817). 

He  entered  upon  active  life  as  a  merchant, .  Yet  such  was 
his  passion  for  literature,  that  he  made  himself  acquainted 
with  nearly  all  the  languages  of  the  Continent,  and  pub- 
lished several  treatises,  essays,  versions  of  poems,  songs, 
and  other  works,  from  the  Russian,  Servian,  Polish,  Mag- 
yar, Danish,  Swedish,  German,  Frisian,  Dutch,  Esthonian, 
Spanish,  Portuguese,  and  Icelandic.  Among  his  early  pub- 
lications were  "  Contestacion,"  etc.,  "  sobre  la  Esclavitud  de 
los  Negros,"  Madrid,  1821 ;  "  Specimens  of  the  Russian  Poets, 
with  Biographical  and  Critical  Notices,"  London,  1821- 
1823;  "  Details  of  the  Imprisonment,  Arrest,  and  Liberation 
of  an  Englishman  by  the  Bourbon  Government  of  France  " 


92  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

(1822) ;  "  Batavian  Antliology,  or  Specimens  of  the  Dutch 
Poets ;  with  a  History  of  the  Poetical  Literature  of  Hol- 
land," in  conjunction  with  H.  S.  Van  Dyk  (1823);  "Peter 
Schlemil,  a  German  Story,"  a  Translation  (1823);  "Matins 
and  Vespers ;  with  Hymns,  and  Occasional  Devotional 
Pieces"  (1823),  enlarged  (1824);  "Ancient  Poetry  and  Ro- 
mances of  Spain "  (1824) ;  "  Hymns :  as  a  Sequel  to  the 
Matins "  (1825) ;  "  Specimens  of  the  Polish  Poets,"  and 
"Servian  Popular  Poetry"  (1827);  "Poetry  of  the  Mag- 
yars" (1830),  and  "Cheskian  [Bohemian]  Anthology"  (1832). 
His  later  publications  were  quite  numerous,  but  mostly  po- 
litical. 

An  affinity  of  tastes  and  oi)inions  brought  him,  in  1822, 
under  the  personal  influence  of  the  noted  Jeremy  Bentham. 
As  "First  Editor"  of  the  Westminster  Remew  from  1824, 
for  several  years,  he  advocated  Bentham's  principles,  and 
after  his  decease  (1832),  as  his  executor,  he  published  (1838) 
an  edition  of  his  works,  in  22  volumes,  with  a  Memoir.  He 
travelled  in  Holland,  and  elsewhere  on  the  Continent  in 
1828,  and  was  employed,  for  several  years,  as  a  Commercial 
Commissioner  for  Government,  in  France,  Switzerland,  Italy, 
Belgium,  the  ZoUverein,  and  the  Levant.  He  sat  in  Parlia- 
ment, 1835-1837,  and  again,  1841-1849. 

At  the  close  of  his  Parliamentary  career,  he  was  sent 
(1849)  to  China,  as  Consul  at  Canton,  and  was  subsequently 
appointed  Acting  Plenipotentiary  and  Superintendent  of 
Trade  in  China.  Returning  to  England  in  1853,  he  was 
elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  in  1854  was 
Knighted.  He  now  returned  to  China  as  Governor,  Com- 
mander-in-Chief, and  Vice- Admiral  of  Hong  Kong.  He 
visited  Siam  in  1855,  and  negotiated  a  Treaty  vdth  the  two 
kings  of  the  country.  After  his  return  to  England,  having 
retired  on  a  pension,  in  1859,  he  published  "  The  Kingdom 
and  People  of  Siam,"  and  "The  Philippine  Islands."  As 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  and  Envoy  Extraordinary  of  the 
Siamese  and  Hawaiian  Kingdoms  to  the  European  Govern- 
ments, he  concluded  Treaties  with  Holland,  Belgium,  Spain, 
Switzerland,  Italy,  and  Sweden.    In  1861^  he  was  sent  to 


SIR  JOHN  BOWRING.  93 

Italy  as  a  Commissioner  of  Commerce.  He  held  the  posi- 
tion, until  his  death,  of  Magistrate,  and  Depnty  Lieutenant 
of  the  County  of  Devon.  The  last  few  years  of  his  busy  life 
he  spent  at  his  seat,  near  Exeter,  where  he  died,  ISTovember 
22,  1872,  at  the  age  of  fourscore  years. 

He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.,  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Groningen,  Holland,  at  an  early  day.  Testimo- 
nials, titles,  decorations,  and  other  honors  were  almost 
showered  upon  him  by  the  principal  Sovereigns  and  Liter- 
ary Societies  of  Europe.  In  the  course  of  his  travels  he 
had  collected  not  less  than  84,000  species  of  Coleoptera, 
which,  before  his  decease,  were  presented  to  the  British 
Museum. 

The  following  hymns  from  his  " IMatins  and  Vespers" 
(1823)  and  a  Sequel  to  the  Matins  (1825)  are  found  in  many 
collections : 

"  How  sweetly  flowed  the  gospel's  sound,"  etc., 
"From  the  recesses  of  a  lowly  spu-it,"  etc., 
"Thy  will  be  done !     In  devious  way,"  etc., 
"  God  is  love  ;  his  mercy  brightens,"  etc., 
"Watchman!  tell  us  of  the  night,"  etc. 

His  poetry  is  quite  unequal,  and  is  mostly  a  reproduction 
of  his  literary  readings.  As  sacred  poetry,  it  is  cold,  and 
destitute  of  that  glowing  inspiration  that  characterizes  so 
many  of  the  productions  of  Trinitarian  poets.  Many  who 
have  so  often  sung  with  delight, — 

"  In  the  cross  of  Christ  I  glory,"  etc., 

may  be  surprised  to  learn  that  its  author  was  then,  and  to 
the  day  of  his  death,  a  confirmed  Unitarian.  He  has  but 
little  to  say  of  the  adorable  Redeemer;  but,  in  common 
with  writers  of  that  class,  he  addi'esses  the  Father,  as  in 
the  following  specimen : 

"Almighty  One!  I  bend  in  dust  before  thee; 

Even  so  veUed  cherubs  bend ; — 
In  calm  and  still  devotion  I  adore  thee, 

All- wise,  all-present  Friend! 
Thou  to  the  earth  its  emerald  robes  hast  given, 


94  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Or  curtained  it  in  snow ; 
And  the  bright  svin,  and  the  soft  moon  in  heaven, 
Before  thy  pi'esence  bow. 

"A  thousand  worlds  which  roll  around  us  brightly, 

Thee  in  their  orbits  bless ; 
Ten  thousand  suns  which  shine  above  us  nightly, 

Proclaim  thy  righteousness. 
Thou  didst  create  the  world — 'twas  thy  proud  mandate 

That  woke  it  unto  day ; 
And  the  same  power  that  measured,  weighed,  and  spanned  it, 

Shall  bid  that  world  decay." 


NICHOLAS  BRADY. 

1659-1726. 

The  Rev.  De.  Brady  was  associated  with  the  Poet 
Laureate,  Nahum  Tate,  in  the  production  of  "The  New 
Version  of  the  Psalms  of  David "  (1696),  known  as  "  Tate 
and  Brady's  Version,"  that  supplanted  " The  Old  Version" 
by  Sternhold  and  Hopkins.  He  was  the  son  of  Major 
Nicholas  Brady,  who  was  a  grandson  of  the  Right  Rev.  Hugh 
Brady,  the  first  Protestant  Bishop  of  Meath,  Ireland,  and 
an  officer  in  the  royalist  army  of  Charles  I.  His  mother 
was  Martha,  the  daughter  of  Luke  Gernon,  Esq.  He  was 
born,  October  28, 1659,  at  Bandon,  County  Cork,  where  also 
he  received  his  elementary  education.  Tlience  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Westminster  School,  London,  and  was  elected  to 
Christ  Church  College,  Oxford.  After  a  four  years'  course 
he  entered  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  where  he  graduated 
A.B.,  and  whence,  at  a  later  date,  he  received  the  honorary 
degree  of  D.D.  Bishop  Wettenhall,  of  Cork,  gave  him  a 
chaplaincy,  and  soon  after  made  him  a  prebend  of  his 
Cathedral.  At  the  Revolution  (1688),  he  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  preserved  Bandon  from 
the  wrath  of  James  II.    At  the  accession  (1689)  of  William 


MATTHEW  BEIDGES.  95 

a  ad  Mary,  lie  was  sent  to  London  to  seek  a  redi'ess  of  griev 
ances.  As  a  reward  for  his  services,  lie  was  appointed  min- 
ister of  St.  Catharine  Cree,  London,  and  lecturer  of  St.  Mi- 
chael's. He  was  honored  also  with  a  royal  chaplaincy. 
The  rectory  of  Holy  Trinity,  Clapham,  Surrey,  and  the  liv- 
ing of  Richmond,  were  soon  after  given  him.  He  died  May 
20,  1726. 

Though  a  clergyman,  he  was  addicted  to  the  drama.  He 
wrote  a  play  called  "  The  Rape ;  or,  The  Innocent  Impos- 
tors," that  was  acted  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  1692.  Three 
volumes  of  his  Sermons  were  published  in  1704, 1706,  and 
1713.  His  later  years  were  occupied  with  a  translation  of 
Virgil's  ^neid,  which  was  published  in  the  last  year  of 
his  life.  Three  additional  volumes  of  his  Sermons  were 
published  (1738)  by  his  son.     [See  Nahum  Tate.] 


MATTHEW  BRIDGES. 

1800 . 

Matthew  Bridges  is  the  youngest  son  of  Mr.  John 
Bridges,  of  WaUington  House,  Surrey.  His  elder  brother, 
the  Rev.  Charles  Bridges,  late  vicar  of  Old  Merton,  is  ex- 
tensively and  most  favorably  known  as  the  author  of  "  The 
Christian  Ministry,"  in  two  volumes ;  also,  "  An  Exposi- 
tion of  the  119th  Psalm,"  and  "  An  Exposition  of  the  Book 
of  Proverbs"; — a  truly  excellent  and  most  useful  man. 

Matthew  Bridges  was  bom,  July  14,  1800,  at  "  The  Fri- 
ars," Maldon,  Essex.  His  writings  show  a  commendable 
spii^it  of  research.  In  1825,  he  produced  "  The  Testimony 
of  Profane  Antiquity  to  the  Account,  given  by  Moses,  of 
Paradise  and  the  Fall  of  Man."  The  same  year  his  poetic 
talent  was  favorably  exhibited  in  "  Jerusalem  Regained :  a 
Poem. "  These  were  followed,  in  1828,  by  "  The  Roman  Em- 
pire under  Constantino  the  Great."    He  was  moved  to  this 


96  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHI3flCH. 

work,  in  part,  by  the  desire  "  to  examine  the  real  origin  ol 
certain  papal  superstitions,  whose  antiquity  haa  been  so 
often  urged  against  Protestants,  with  no  little  triumph 
and  presumption."  In  1842,  he  published  his  "Babbi- 
combe,  or  Visions  of  Memory,  with  other  Poems." 

Notwithstanding  his  previous  Protestant  proclivities,  he 
became  enamored  of  Tractarian  doctrines,  and,  by  easy 
gradations,  at  length,  with  many  scholars  of  the  two  Uni- 
versities and  others,  became,  about  1846,  a  convert  to  the 
dogmas  and  pretensions  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  His 
"HjTiins  of  the  Heart"  appeared  in  the  following  year, 
containing  twenty-two  of  his  own  hymns.  A  small  book 
of  hymns,  called  "  The  Passion  of  Jesus,"  followed  in  1852  ; 
"  Popular  Ancient  and  Modern  Histories,"  in  1855-6  ;  a 
"Report  of  the  Discussion  between  J.  Baylee  and  Mat- 
thew Bridges,"  in  1856  ;  and  "  An  Earnest  Appeal  to  Evan- 
gelical Episcopalians,  etc.,  on  the  State  of  Parties  in  the 
Anglican  Establishment,"  in  1864.  These  are  his  principal 
works. 

The  first  and  last  stanzas  of  his  hymn,  entitled  "All 
Saints,"  are  given  as  specimens  of  his  verse : 

"  Head  of  the  hosts  in  glory, 
We  joyfully  adore  thee, — 

Thy  Church  on  earth  below, 
Blending  with  those  on  high, — 
Where,  through  the  azure  sky. 
Thy  saiats  ia  ecstasy 

Forever  glow. 

"Angels — archangels  I  glorious 
Guards  of  the  Church  victorious  I 

Worship  the  Lamb : 
Crown  him  with  crowns  of  light, — 
One  of  the  Three  by  right, — 
Love,  Majesty,  and  Might; 

The  Great  I  AM  I" 

Many  of  his  hymns  were  appended  to  an  edition  of  the 
"  Lyra  Catholica,"  published  (1851)  by  Edward  Dunnigan 
&  Brother,  New  York. 


CHAELES  TIMOTHY  BEOOKS.  97 

CHARLES  TIMOTHY  BROOKS. 
1813-1883. 

MPw  Brooks  was  a  Unitarian  divine,  a  vigorous  writer,  an 
industrious  author,  and  an  accomplished  poet.  He  was 
born  June  20, 1813,  at  Salem,  Mass.  "While  a  student  at 
Harvard  College  (where  he  graduated,  1832),  he  became, 
under  the  instructions  of  the  learned  Prof.  Charles  T.  C.  Fol- 
len,  LL.D.,  an  excellent  German  scholar.  After  a  three 
years'  course  of  study  (1832-1835)  at  the  DiAdnity  School  in 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  he  began  to  preach  in  the  summer  of  1835 
at  Nahant,  Mass.,  and  successively  supplied  congregations 
at  Bangor  and  Augusta,  Me.,  at  Windsor,  Yt.,  and  other 
places,  and  (June  4, 1837)  was  ordained  the  pastor  of  the 
Unitarian  church  of  Newport,  R.  I.  He  married  (October, 
1837)  Miss  Harriet  L.  Hazard,  and  resided  continuously 
at  Newport  thereafter.  In  1853,  he  visited  India  for  the 
benefit  of  his  impaired  health,  and,  in  the  autumn  of  1871, 
by  reason  of  the  failure  of  his  eyesight  and  general  health, 
he  resigned  his  pastoral  charge. 

While  a  student  at  the  Divinity  School,  Cambridge, 
he  translated  from  the  German  the  popular  patriotic  hymn, 

"  God  bless  our  native  land,"  etc. 

It  was  reconstructed  (the  second  stanza  being  almost  wholly 
rewritten)  by  Rev.  John  S.  Dwight,  and  published  as  it  now 
appears  in  the  various  Compilations.  It  may,  therefore,  be 
regarded  as  a  joint  production. 

In  1838,  he  published,  anonymously,  at  Providence,  R.  1., 
a  translation  of  Schiller's  "  William  Tell ";  in  1842,  a  volume 
of  misceEaneous  poems  from  the  German  ;  in  1845,  a  poem 
delivered  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  Cambridge  ; 
in  1847,  a  translation  of  Schiller's  "  Homage  to  the  Arts," 
with  other  pieces ;  in  1848,  "  Aquidneck,  and  other  Po- 
ems"; in  1851,  a  monogram  on  "The  Old  Stone  Mill"  of 
Newport,  R.  I.  ;  in"  1853,  a  volume  of  "  German  Lyrics," — 
7 


98  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

many  of  which  translations  had  previously  appeared  in 
the  Literary  World;  in  1855,  a  translation  of  Goethe's 
"Fanst";  in  1857,  "Songs  of  the  Field  and  Flood";  in 
1859,  "  Simplicity  of  Christ's  Teaching,"  a  volume  of  Ser- 
mons ;  in  1863,  a  translation  of  Jean  Paul  Eichter's  "  Ti- 
tan," and  (1865)  "Hesperus";  in  1867,  a  translation  of 
Schefer's  "Layman's  Breviary,"  and  (1873)  "World's 
Priest."  In  addition,  he  was  a  contributor  of  numerous 
poems,  hymns,  odes,  and  essays,  to  the  periodical  press ; 
among  the  latter,  one  on  "  Poetry "  (1845)  and  another  on 
"German  Hymnology"  (1860),  both  to  the  Christian  Ex- 
aminer. He  died,  June  14, 1883. 
The  following  stanzas,  with  four  others,  were  written  in 

1871: 

"  Great  Lord  of  all;  our  Father,  God! 

Sweet  summer's  hymn  ascends  to  thee ; 
Her  beauty  breathes  thy  joy  abroad, 

And  love's  warm  tide  flows  full  and  free. 

"  Through  all  the  realm  of  earth  and  air, 
Thy  great  heart  pulses  day  and  night, 
And  flower  and  fountain  leap  to  share 
The  glory  of  thy  kindling  light. 

"  In  mom's  and  evening's  twilight  glow, 
Thy  tender  greeting,  Lord !  we  feel ; 
And  midnight  heavens,  with  silent  show, 
Thy  watchful,  patient  love  reveal." 


PHCEBE  HINSDALE  BEOWN. 

1783-1861. 

The  early  days  of  Mrs.  Brown  gave  small  promise  of  lit- 
erary attainments  or  poetic  development.  Her  parents 
were  attached  to  the  Episcopal  Church.  She  was  born, 
May  1,  1783,  at  Canaan  Four  Corners,  N".  Y.  Her  father, 
George  Hinsdale,  died  when  she  was  only  ten  months  old, 


PHCEBE  HINSDALE  BROWN.  99 

followed,  at  tlie  close  of  the  next,  year,  by  lier  widowed 
mother.  Her  grandfather,  Allen,  took  charge  of  the  little 
orphan.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen  died  in  her  tenth  year.  In 
this  crisis  she  found  a  home  with  her  sister  (at  Claverack, 
N.  Y.),  whose  husband  was  the  keeper  of  a  county  prison. 
Here  she  remained  for  the  next  eight  years,  treated  more 
as  a  servant  than  as  a  sister,  receiving  almost  no  sympathy, 
and  subjected  to  great  tribulation.  ISTot  a  day's  schooling 
was  given  her  the  whole  time,  so  that,  in  her  eighteenth 
year,  she  could  not  even  write  her  name.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  this  time,  she  broke  loose  from  her  cruel  bondage, 
and  attended  the  district  school  at  Claverack  for  three 
months,  and  there  she  learned  to  write. 

A  kind  Pro\idence  brought  her,  in  1801,  into  the  Whit- 
ing family,  residing  in  her  native  place,  where  she  was 
treated  as  a  daughter,  and  where,  the  same  year,  she 
united  with  the  Church.  In  1805,  she  became  the  cherished 
wife  of  Mr.  Timothy  H.  Bro^Ti,  of  East  Windsor,  Ct., 
where  two  of  her  children  were  born.  The  remaining  two 
were  born  at  EUing-ton,  whither  they  had  removed.  Here 
she  became  familiar  with  one  of  the  natives  of  the  forest, 
still  lingering  in  the  East,  of  whom  she  gave  an  account  in 
a  Tract,  called,  "  Poor  Sarah,  or  the  Indian  Woman,"  pub- 
lished as  Number  128,  by  the  American  Tract  Society,  New 
York. 

She  was  greatly  attached  to  her  pen,  and  became  a  fre- 
quent contributor  to  the  periodical  press.  Several  of  her 
contributions  appeared  in  the  Religious  Intelligencer,  pub- 
lished by  Deacon  Nathan  Whiting,  at  New  Haven,  Ct.  In 
TJie  Pearl,  published  at  Hartford,  Ct.,  appeared  her  "  Tales 
of  Real  Life,"  and  several  of  her  pieces  of  poetry.  At  a 
later  date,  she  published  two  Siinday- School  books,  called 
"  The  Village  School,"  and  "  The  Tree  and  its  Fruits."  Tlie 
former  of  these  two  volumes  described  her  own  experience 
as  a  school  teacher ;  the  latter  illustrated,  by  a  series  of 
tales  from  real  life,  the  evils  of  gambling. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Hammond,  who  was  for  some  years  a 
member  of  her  family,  says :  "  I  have  in  my  possession  her 


100  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

aiitobiograpliy,  a  manuscript  volume  of  412  pages,  and  a 
volume  of  her  poems,  wMch  I  have  collected  from  her 
manuscripts  and  newspaper  slips,  which  is  nearly  as  large. 
From  her  letters  and  diaries  and  prose  papers  yet  unpub- 
lished, another  manuscript  volume  of  equal  size  could  be 
made,  of  great  value.  At  the  age  of  seventy,  two  years 
before  her  death,  she  wrote  out,  in  a  small  volume,  a  fair 
copy  of  her  numerous  hymns  and  other  poetical  effusions, 
noting  the  occasion,  time  and  place  of  such  compositions, 
and  the  date  of  their  first  publication. " 

The  family  removed,  in  1818,  to  Monson,  Mass.,  Just  over 
the  State  line,  where  her  brother-in-law,  the  late  Alfred 
Ely,  D.D.,  was  settled  in  the  ministry.  Her  home,  at  El- 
lington, had  been  on  the  border  of  a  little  mountain  stream, 
just  outside  of  the  village.  Leading  from  the  cottage  door, 
a  well-worn  footpath  led  down,  among  the  trees  and  elders, 
to  a  shelving  rock  on  the  bank  of  the  brook,  where  she  was 
wont  to  retire  for  prayer  and  meditation.  One  evening  in 
August,  1818,  having  been  rudely  interrupted  in  her  retreat, 
she  returned  to  her  home,  and  in  vindication  of  her  prac- 
tice, wrote  from  a  full  and  grieved  heart : 

"  Yes, — when  this  toilsome  day  is  gone, 

And  night,  with  banners  gray. 
Steals  silently  the  glade  along, 

In  twOight's  soft  array, — 
I  love  to  steal  awhile  away 

From  children  and  from  care, 
And  spend  the  hour  of  setting  day 

In  humble,  grateful  prayer." 

Four  more  stanzas  were  added,  and  the  paper  laid  away. 
When  Dr.  Nettleton  was  compiling  his  volume  of  "  Village 
Hymns,"  he  applied,  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Ely,  to  Mrs. 
Brown,  then  residing  at  Monson,  for  some  of  her  produc- 
tions. This  and  three  others  were  given  him,  and  inserted 
in  that  collection.  The  first  stanza  was  omitted,  and  the 
second  line  of  what  is  now  the  first  stanza  was  altered  with 
her  consent.  It  has  become  a  great  favorite.  The  tune, 
"  Monson,"  was  composed  for  it  by  her  son,  the  Rev.  Sam- 


PHCEBE  HINSDALE  BROWN.  101 

uel  R.   Brown,  D.D.,  of  Japan, — as  was  also  the  tune, 
"  Brown,"  named  for  her  by  Mr.  W.  B.  Bradbury. 
The  hymn  beginning  with, 

"  O  Lord!  tliy  work  revive," 

"  was  written  from  the  impulse  of  a  full  heart,  and  shown 
to  a  friend,  who  begged  a  copy  for  private  use.  It  soon 
found  its  way  to  the  public  in  the '  Spiiitual  Songs.'  Writ- 
ten at  Monson,  1819."     Such  is  her  own  account  of  it. 

Mrs.  Brown  became  a  widow,  in  1854,  in  her  seventy- 
second  year.  She  then  found  a  home  with  her  only  son, 
who  had  returned  from  China,  and  had  become  the  pastor 
of  the  Owasco  Outlet  Reformed  Church,  near  Auburn,  N. 
Y.  On  his  departure  (1859)  to  Japan,  she  took  up  her 
abode  with  her  daughter  Hannah,  the  wife  of  Deacon 
Elijah  Smith,  who,  with  her  only  surviving  sister,  was 
residing  at  Henry,  111.  There  she  dwelt,  serene  and  happy, 
until  her  death,  October  10, 1861,  in  the  seventy-ninth  year 
of  her  age. 

The  following  hymn  was  written  by  Mrs.  Brown,  in  1819, 
at  Monson,  Mass.,  during  a  revival  season,  for  a, sunrise 
prayer-meeting ;  it  was  included  (1832)  among  Hastings 
and  Mason's  "  Spiritual  Songs  ": 

"How  sweet  the  melting  lay, 
Which  breaks  upon  the  ear. 
When,  at  the  hour  of  rising  day. 
Christians  \mite  in  prayer ! 

"The  breezes  waft  their  cries 
Up  to  Jehovah's  throne, — 
He  Ustens  to  their  bursting  sighs. 
And  sends  his  blessings  down. 

"So  Jesus  rose  to  pray. 

Before  the  morning  light. 
Once  on  the  chilling  mount  did  stay 
And  wrestle  all  the  night. 

"  Glory  to  God  on  high 

Who  sends  his  blessings  down, 
To  rescue  souls  condemned  to  die. 
And  makes  his  people  one !  " 


102  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUKCH. 

SIMON  BROWNE. 
1680-1732. 

Simon  Browne  wrote  in  the  days  of  Watts,  wliom  he 
greatly  revered.  He  was  born,  in  1680,  at  Shepton-Mallet, 
Eng.  His  early  education  was  pursued  at  home  under  the 
care  of  the  Rev.  John  Gumming,  his  pastor.  He  was  then 
put  under  the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  John  Moore,  pastor 
of  the  dissenting  church  of  Bridgewater.  He  was  a  dili- 
gent student,  and  an  apt  scholar ;  of  a  grave  aspect,  and 
godly  life.  In  his  twentieth  year  he  was  authorized  to 
preach.  Soon  after,  he  undertook  the  pastoral  charge  of  a 
large  and  important  church  at  Portsmouth.  Here  he  con- 
tinued, honored,  useful,  and  beloved,  about  fifteen  years. 
He  was  called  thence,  in  1716,  to  succeed  the  Rev.  John 
Shower,  as  pastor  of  the  Old  Jury  church,  one  of  the  most 
influential  dissenting  churches  in  the  kingdom.  Dr.  Watts 
was  then  a  near  neighbor,  preaching  hard  by  in  Bury 
Street. 

Matthew  Henry  had  died  two  years  before,  leaving  his 
great  Commentary  unfinished.  The  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  was  assigned  to  and  completed  by  Mr.  Browne. 
Besides  occasional  sermons,  he  had  jDublished,  before  com- 
ing to  London,  a  considerable  volume  (1809),  entitled, — 
"The  true  Character  of  the  Real  Christian,  or  Sincere 
Good  Man."  Of  the  "Occasional  Papers,"  he  wrote  Nos. 
4, 10,  and  12.  He  took  part  in  the  Salter's  Hall  Confer- 
ence, held  at  London  early  in  1719,  and  sided,  because  of 
his  zeal  for  the  rights  of  conscience,  against  subscription 
to  the  First  Article  [Trinitarian]  of  the  Church  of  England. 
Dr.  Watts,  the  same  year,  brought  out  his  version,  or 
"Imitation  of  the  Psalms  of  David,"  and  Mr.  Browne's 
Hymns  followed,  the  next  year  (1720).  Two  years  later 
(1722),  he  published  a  volume  of  his  sermons  (13),  highly 
evangelical  and  well  written.  They  are  chiefly  on  practical 
themes. 


SIMON  BEOWNE.  103 

It  pleased  God,  the  foUowing  year  (1723),  to  remove  from 
him,  by  death,  a  beloved  wife  and  an  only  son.  A  deep 
depression  of  spirits  succeeded,  aggravated,  as  some  have 
said,  by  having  unfittingly  killed  a  foot-pad,  by  whom  he 
was  assaulted  on  a  journey.  But  this  statement  is  not  well 
authenticated.  A  heavy  gloom  came  over  him,  resulting 
in  a  most  remarkable  malady,  which  affected  him,  without 
interruption,  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  became  a  confirmed 
monomaniac.  He  imagined,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Atkey  in  his 
Funeral  Sermon,  "  that  Almighty  God,  by  a  singular  in- 
stance of  divine  power,  had,  in  a  gradual  manner,  annihi- 
lated in  him  the  thinking  substance,  and  utterly  divested 
him  of  consciousness ;  that,  though  he  retained  the  human 
shape,  and  the  faculty  of  speaking,  in  a  manner  that  ap- 
peared to  others  rational,  he  had  all  the  while  no  more  no- 
tion of  what  he  said  than  a  parrot.  And,  very  consistently 
with  this,  he  looked  upon  himself  as  no  longer  a  moral 
agent,  a  subject  of  reward  or  punishment." 

Nothing  could  shake  this  conviction.  He  ceased  to 
preach  and  pray ;  gave  up  his  pastoral  charge  ;  retired  to 
Shepton-Mallet,  and  devoted  himself  to  literary  pursuits. 
He  dismissed  all  fear,  was  calm  and  even  cheerful.  All  the 
while  the  masterly  character  of  his  mind  was  more  and 
more  apparent.  So  acute  a  disputant  was  he,  that  his  per- 
sonal friends  were  wont  to  say,  "He  can  reason  as  if  he 
were  possessed  of  two  souls." 

He  translated  some  of  the  ancient  Greek  and  Latin  poets 
into  English  verse ;  he  composed  several  school-books  for 
children;  and  compiled  a  Greek  and  Latin  Dictionary.  "  A 
fit  Rebuke  to  a  ludicrous  Infidel,"  written  with  great  care 
and  shrewdness,  was  published  by  him  in  1731 ;  "  A  Sober 
and  Charitable  Disquisition  concerning  the  Importance  of 
the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity,"  a  remarkably  able  and  learned 
essay,  followed  the  next  year,— also,  his  "  Defence  of  the 
Religion  of  Nature,  and  the  Christian  Revelation,"  in  reply 
to  Tindal,  said  to  be  "superior  to  most,  and  inferior  to 
none,"  of  the  Defences,  "  that  have  appeared  on  the  same 
subject." 


104  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

For  want  of  proper  exercise,  Ms  health  failed,  and  lie 
died,  at  tlie  close  of  the  year  1732,  of  a  complication  of  dis- 
orders. His  Hymn  Book  contains  266  original  hymns,  truly 
evangelical,  and  quite  superior,  in  rhythm  and  diction,  to 
the  most  of  what  was  then  current  as  "  sacred  lyrics."  Pre- 
fixed to  the  book  are  twenty  Tunes — Treble,  Tenor,  and 
Bass — four  of  them  of  his  own  comi^osition.  In  his  Pref- 
ace, which  is  quite  valuable  for  its  historical  notices,  he 
says: 

"  The  ingenious  Mr.  Watts  has  outdone  all  that  went  be- 
fore him  in  the  variety  of  his  subjects,  the  smoothness  of 
his  verse,  and  the  richness  of  his  fancy."  "The  world,  I 
hope,  will  not  do  me  the  injury  to  think  that  I  aim  at  being 
his  rival.  These  hymns  are  designed  as  a  Sui^plement  to 
his,  not  intended  to  supplant  them."  "  I  do  not  set  up  for 
a  poet.  And  yet,  'tis  no  vanity  to  say,  I  aim  at  being  more 
poetical  than  some  who  have  gone  before  me.  I  have  la- 
bored to  make  the  verse  smooth,  and  the  sense  obvious  and 
clear."  "  I  have  more  tyed  myself  to  rhyme  than  any  of 
my  predecessors,  Mr.  Barton  excepted ;  having  throughout 
taken  care,  either  to  rhyme  in  couplets,  or  in  every  other 
line."  He  shows  a  great  familiarity  with  Watts'  Psalms 
and  Hymns,  frequently  borrows  his  phraseology,  and,  in 
some  cases,  simply  reconstructs  his  neighbor's  production. 
"  Sometimes,"  he  says,  "  I  have  borrowed  my  stamina  from 
others." 

The  122d  hymn  in  his  book, — ^beginning  with, 

"Thrice  happy  saints,  who  dwell  above, 
In  God's  immediate  sight; 
They  glow  with  everlasting  love, 
And  shine  divinely  bright," 

has  ten  stanzas.  Five  only  are  retained,  in  the  altered  form 
in  which  alone  they  have  long  been  used.  The  following 
etanzas  are  from  the  fifth  hymn  of  his  third  book : 

"Hail!  Holy  Spirit!  bright  immortal  Dove ! 
Great  Spring  of  light,  of  purity  and  love, 
Pi-oceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
Distinct  from  both,  and  yet  with  botli  but  one. 


MICHAEL  BRUCE.  105 

*  Oh !  shed  thine  influence  and  thy  power  exert ; 
Clear  my  dark  mind,  and  thaw  my  icy  heart ; 
Pour  on  my  drowsy  soul  celestial  day, 
And  heavenly  life  to  all  its  powers  convey." 


MICHAEL  BEUCE. 

1746-1767. 
"  *  Whom  the  Gods  love  die  young,'  was  said  of  yore." 

So  wrote  Lord  Byron,  quoting  Plautus,  and  lie  Menander. 
It  is  true  only  in  part.  It  was  true,  among  many  others,  of 
Henry  Kirke  White,  Robert  Murray  McCheyne,  John  Sum- 
merfield,  Tliomas  Spencer,  and  Michael  Bruce.  The  latter 
had  entered  only  his  twenty-second  year,  when  he  was 
called  to  join  the  heavenly  choir. 

Michael  was  the  fifth  child  of  Alexander  and  Ann  Bruce, 
whose  eight  children  aU  died  young— Michael  outliving  the 
others.  The  father  was  an  humble  weaver.  Both  the  par- 
ents were  godly  and  discreet.  Their  home  was  a  small 
thatched  cottage,  Avith  a  sashed — ^not  a  lattice — window,  in 
the  little  hamlet  of  Kinneswood,  skirted  with  a  circle  of 
old  ash  trees,  two  miles  from  Kinross,  on  the  southwestern 
declivity  of  the  Lomond  Hills,  and  on  the  northeastern 
bank  of  Loch  Leven.     It  was  just  the  place  for  a  poet. 

Here  Michael  was  born,  March  27, 1746,  and  here  he  grew  ' 
to  early  manhood.  Few,  indeed,  were  his  advantages,  but 
he  improved  them  well.  At  four,  he  could  read ;  at  six,  he 
could  write,  and  wiite  well.  In  boyhood  he  was  manly — 
in  intellectual  develojDments  far  in  advance  of  his  years. 
He  was  the  chaplain  of  his  humble  home.  In  his  advanced 
boyhood  he  was  "  slenderly  made,  with  a  long  neck  and 
narrow  chest ;  his  skin  white,  and  shining ;  his  cheeks 
tinged  with  red  rather  than  ruddy ;  his  hair  yellowish  and 
inclined  to  curl."  The  Rev.  Thomas  Mair,  of  the  Associate 
Synod,  was  his  pastor. 

Poor  as  he  was,  he  began,  in  his  eleventh  year,  the  study 


106  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

of  Latin.  In  1762,  lie  entered  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
During  the  summer  vacation  of  1764,  he  wrote,  at  home, 
several  hymns  for  the  village  singing-school.  He  had  pre- 
viously been  addicted  to  versification.  The  next  year,  he 
took  charge  of  a  school,  first  at  Gairmy  Bridge,  at  £11  per 
annum,  and  then  at  Forrest  Mill.  He  entered,  also,  on  the 
study  of  divinity,  and,  for  one  session,  enjoyed  the  tuition 
of  Prof.  Swanton,  of  Kinross,  in  the  Theological  Hall.  But 
his  feeble  frame  soon  gave  way,  and  he  returned  home  to 
die.  During  his  illness,  as  strength  permitted,  he  revised 
and  transcribed  his  hymns,  sonnets,  and  odes,  having  pre- 
viously purposed  to  publish  them.  Full  of  faith  and  resig- 
nation he  awaited  the  hour  of  his  departure.  He  died, 
July  5, 1767,  without  a  struggle. 

After  his  decease,  the  manuscript  volume  of  his  poems 
was  committed,  for  publication,  to  his  college  comrade, 
John  Logan.  Three  years  elapsed,  and  Logan  published 
(1770)  "Poems  on  Several  Occasions,  by  Michael  Bruce." 
Greatly  to  the  surprise  and  grief  of  the  father  and  village 
friends  of  Bruce,  the  larger  part  of  the  poems  were  sup- 
pressed. Logan  refused  to  restore  the  remainder.  The 
father  died.  Then  Logan,  in  1781,  ventured  to  publish,  as 
his  own,  several  poems  (among  which  was  an  "  Ode  to  the 
Cuckoo  "),  which  were  at  once  recognized  by  the  villagers  as 
the  production  of  the  youthful  Bruce.  The  hymns  they 
had  often  sung,  and  the  "Ode"  had  been  committed  to 
memory  as  a  great  favorite. 

Eleven  at  least  of  Bruce's  hymns  were  incorporated,  on 
the  recommendation  of  a  committee,  of  whom  Logan  was 
one,  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
the  same  year,  in  the  "  Translations  and  Paraphrases,  in 
verse,  on  several  Passages  of  Scripture,  to  be  sung  in  the 
churches."  They  are  respectively  numbered  8,  9, 10, 11, 18, 
23,  31,  38,  53,  58,  and  the  last  one  of  the  five  appended 
"  Hymns."  Tlie  first  three  of  the  eight  stanzas  of  the  "  Ode 
to  the  Cuckoo  "  are  subjoined : 

" Hail!  beauteous  stranger  of  the  wood, 
Attendant  on  the  spring ! 


WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT.  107 

Now  heaven  repairs  thy  rural  seat, 
And  woods  thy  welcome  sing. 

"  Soon  as  the  daisy  decks  the  green, 
Thy  certain  voice  we  hear : 
Hast  thou  a  star  to  guide  thy  path. 
Or  mark  the  rolling  year  ? 

"  DeUghtful  visitant !  with  thee 
I  hail  the  time  of  flowers, 
When  heaven  is  filled  with  music  sweet 
Of  birds  among  the  bowers." 


WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT. 

1794-1878. 

Mr.  Bryant  was  born  November  3,  1794,  in  the  rural 
town  of  Cummington,  the  hill  country  of  Hampshire  Co., 
Mass.  His  father,  Peter  Bryant,  was  a  physician  and 
surgeon  of  high  culture  and  eminent  skill.  The  education 
of  Ms  children  he  superintended  with  the  utmost  care. 
Discerning  the  early  intellectual  promise  of  his  son,  Will- 
iam CuUen,  he  took  special  pains  in  developing  his  intel- 
lect and  cultivating  his  poetic  taste.  This  fatherly  care  and 
loving-kindness  were  not  unappreciated  by  the  dutiful  son. 
When,  in  1820,  the  father  died,  the  son  appended  to  his 
"Hymn  on  Death,"  T\aitten  the  same  year,  these  with  other 
additional  lines : 

"Alas!  I  little  thought  that  the  stern  Power, 
Whose  fearful  praise  I  sung,  would  try  me  thus. 
Before  the  strain  was  ended.     It  must  cease — 
For  he  is  in  his  grave  who  taught  my  youth 
The  art  of  verse,  and,  in  the  bud  of  life. 
Offered  me  to  the  muses.     Oh !  cut  off 
Untimely,  when  thy  reason  in  its  strength, 
Ripened  by  years  of  toil  and  studious  search 
And  watch  of  Natui-e's  silent  lessons,  taught 


100  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Thy  hand  to  practise  hest  the  lenient  art, 

To  which  thou  gavest  thy  laborious  days, 

And,  last,  thy  life."  ....   "Rest,  therefore,  thou, 

Whose  early  guidance  trained  my  infant  steps, — 

Rest  in  the  bosom  of  God,  till  the  brief  sleep 

Of  death  is  over,  and  a  happier  life 

Shall  dawn  to  waken  thine  insensible  dust." 

At  nine,  lie  began  to  rhyme.  At  ten  (1804),  one  of  Ms 
scliool-exercises  in  verse  aiDpeared,  in  tlie  Hampshire  Ga- 
zette, Northampton,  Mass.  Two  years  later  (1806),  he 
wrote  verses  on  "  The  Solar  Eclipse,"  and  on  "  The  Death  of 
a  Cousin  ";  and,  July,  1807,  on  the  "  Drought,"  and  an  "  Ode 
to  Connecticut  River."  His  "  Embargo,  or  Sketches  of  the 
Times,"  a  well-sustained  political  "  Satire "  on  President 
Jefferson,  in  good  heroic  verse,  correct  in  rhyme  and 
rhythm,  as  well  as  vigorous  in  thought,  was  written  and 
published  (1808)  in  his  fourteenth  year.  The  next  year 
(1809),  it  appeared  in  a  second  edition,  "  corrected  and  en- 
larged, together  with  the  Spanish  Revolution  and  other 
Poems."  TJie  Monthly  Anthology,  in  a  flattering  notice, 
augured  well  for  the  fame  of  the  young  bard.  The  same 
year  he  produced  an  excellent  translation  of  the  19th  Can- 
to of  the  1st  Book  of  Virgil's  ^Eneid. 

In  1810,  he  entered  the  Sophomore  class  of  Williams 
College,  of  w^hich  he  took  at  once  the  first  place.  Having 
graduated  in  1813,  he  entered  on  the  study  of  law,  at  Bos- 
ton, Mass.,  first  with  Justice  Howe,  and  then  with  the  Hon. 
WUliam  Baylies.  He  was  admitted  (1815)  to  the  bar,  at 
Plymouth,  Mass.,  and  practiced  law,  one  year  at  Plainfield, 
and  nine  years  at  Great  Barrington,  Mass.  His  immortal 
"  Thanatopsis,"  so  universally  admired,  was  first  given  to 
the  public  in  the  columns  of  the  North  American  Remeio, 
for  1817,  though  it  was  written  (1812)  in  his  eighteenth 
year.  The  closing  lines  of  this  remarkable  poem  have  be- 
come "  household  words,"  wherever  the  English  language 
is  spoken : 

"  So  Uve,  that,  when  thy  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan,  that  moves 


WILLIAM  CULLEN  BEYANT.  109 

To  that  mysterious  realm,  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death, 
Thou  go  not,  Hke  the  quarry  slave,  at  night. 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon ;  but,  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  thy  grave, 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 

Several  prose  articles  were  contributed  to  tlie  North 
American  and  appeared  in  later  Numbers.  At  tlie  com- 
mencement of  Harvard  College,  in  1821,  he  delivered  the  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  Poem — on  "  The  Ages,"  in  Spenserian  stanzas, 
— which,  with  "  Thanatopsis,  and  other  Poems,"  was  pub- 
lished the  same  year,  at  Cambridge,  Mass,  Several  other 
poems  from  his  pen  appeared  (1824)  in  the  United  States 
Literary  Gazette,  and  Boston  WeeMy  Remew.  In  1822, 
he  married  Miss  Fairchild,  of  Great  Barrington,  where  he 
was  then  residing. 

The  law  proving  less  congenial  to  him  than  literature, 
for  which  he  had  a  great  passion,  he  removed  to  New  York 
City  in  1825,  and  became  an  editor  for  life,  first,  of  the 
New  TorJc  Remew  and  AthencBum,  Magazine, — a  monthly, 
which  the  next  year  was  merged  in  the  United  States  Re- 
mew and  Literary  Gazette, — and  then  (1826)  of  the  Evening 
Post.  To  this  admirable  daily,  Mr.  Bryant  gave,  for  half  a 
century,  the  strength  of  his  vigorous  and  highly  cultivated 
intellect,  elevating  it  to  the  very  front  rank  of  honorable 
and  influential  journalism. 

He  contributed  largely  to  the  "  Talisman,"  an  annual  for 
the  years  1827-1830,  also  (1832)  "Medfield,"  and  the 
"  Skeleton's  Cave,"  to  the  "  Tales  of  the  Glauber  Spa."  A 
general  collection  of  his  "  Poems  "  was  published  by  Elam 
Bliss,  New  York,  1832,  and  reprinted,  with  an  Introduction 
by  Washington  Irving,  in  London.  He  visited  Europe  in 
1834, 1836, 1845,  and  1849, — extending  his  travels,  in  the  last 
instance,  as  far  as  Egypt  and  Syria.  These  visits  gave  oc- 
casion (1850)  to  his  "Letters  of  a  Traveler."  Another  visit 
to  Europe  (1857-1858)  occasioned  his  "  Letters  from  Spain 
and  Other  Countries."    A  new  volume  of  "  Thirty  Poems  " 


110  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

appeared  in  1864.      Once  more  (1867)  lie  crossed  tlie  ocean, 
and  in  1872  lie  visited  Mexico,  by  tlie  way  of  Cuba. 

Mncli  of  his  spare  time  was  given  to  the  study  of  the 
classics,  the  mature  fruit  of  which  appeared  in  his  inimi- 
table poetic  versions  of  Homer's  Hiad  and  the  Odyssey,  the 
foiiner  of  which  appeared  in  1870-1871,  and  the  latter,  in 
1871-1872.  His  "  Library  of  Poetry  and  Song,"— an  ad- 
mirable collection,— was  published  in  1871.  He  received 
(1853)  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  from  Union  College, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.;  and,  in  1870,  the  degree  of  H.S.D., 
from  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

In  1844,  the  North  American  Revieio,  with  careful  dis- 
crimination, truly  remarked :  "  His  poems  are  almost  per- 
fect of  their  kind.  The  fruits  of  meditation,  rather  than 
of  passion  or  imagination,  and  rarely  startling  with  an  un- 
expected image  or  sudden  outbreak  of  feeling,  they  are 
admirable  specimens  of  what  may  be  called  the  philoso- 
phy of  the  soul.  They  address  the  liner  instincts  of  our 
nature  with  a  voice  so  winning  and  gentle,  they  search 
out  with  such  subtle  power  all  in  the  heart  which  is  true 
and  good,  that  their  influence,  though  quiet,  is  resistless." 
"  It  is  impossible  to  read  them  without  being  morally  bene- 
fited ;  they  purify  as  well  as  please ;  they  develop  or  en 
courage  all  the  elevated  and  thoughtful  tendencies  of  the 
mind. " 

The  desire  expressed  in  the  following  stanza,  written  by 
himself,  was  realized  in  the  autumn  of  his  own  life : 

"  Wind  of  the  sunny  South!  Oh,  still  delay- 
In  the  gay  woods  and  in  the  golden  air, 
Like  to  a  good  old  age  released  from  care, 

Journeying,  in  long  serenity,  away. 

In  such  a  bright,  late  quiet,  would  that  I 
Might  wear  out  life  like  thee,  'mid  bowers  and  brooks, 
And,  dearer  yet,  the  sunshine  of  kind  looks 

And  music  of  kind  voices  ever  nigh ! 

And,  when  my  last  sand  twuikled  in  the  glass, 
'      Pass  silently  from  men,  as  thou  dost  pass."  [1826.] 

He  died,  June  12, 1878,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year. 


STEPHEN  GREENLEAF  BULFINCH.  Ill 

STEPHEN  GREENLEAF  BULFINCH. 
1809-1870. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Bulfestch  was  bom,  June  18,  1809,  at 
Boston,  Mass.  His  father,  Charles  Bulfinch  (1763-1844), 
the  son  of  Dr.  Thomas  Bulfinch,  was  a  graduate  (1781)  of 
Harvard  College,  Mass.,  and  became  eminent  as  an  archi- 
tect. He  designed  the  State  House  and  City  Hall  of  Bos- 
ton, and  drew  the  plans  for  the  Capitol  of  the  United 
States,  Washington,  D.  C.  The  son,  because  of  the  father's 
removal  (1818)  to  the  Federal  City,  became,  at  the  age  of 
nine  years,  a  resident  of  Washington,  where  he  prosecuted 
his  studies,  graduating,  in  1827,  at  Columbian  College.  He 
studied  theology  (1827-1830)  at  the  Divinity  School,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 

He  entered  on  public  life  as  the  pastor  (1830-1837)  of  the 
Unitarian  Church  of  Augusta,  Ga.,  and  was  ordained 
January  9, 1831.  He  then  became  a  teacher  at  Pittsburgh, 
Pa.  (1837-8),  and  subsequently  (1838)  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
stiU  continuing  the  exercise  of  his  ministry.  He  was  the 
pastor  for  several  years  (1845-1852)  of  the  Unitarian  Church 
of  Nashua,  N.  H.  Thence  he  removed  (1852)  to  Dorches- 
ter ;  and  (1865)  to  East  Cambridge,  now  Boston,  where  he 
continued  to  reside  until  his  decease,  October  12, 1870.  He 
received  (1864)  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  from  his  Al- 
ma Mater. 

His  literary  and  poetic  taste  was  frequently  developed 
through  the  press.  Besides  several  sermons  and  magazine 
articles,  he  published  (1832)  his  "Contemplations  of  the 
Saviour :  a  Series  of  Extracts  from  the  Gospel  History, 
with  Reflections  and  Hymns  Original  and  Selected."  Of 
the  hymns  twenty-eight  were  original.  A  volume  of  his 
"  Poems  "  was  published  (1834)  at  Charleston,  S.  C.  "  The 
Holy  Land  and  its  Inhabitants"  followed,  in  1834  ;  "Lays 
of  the  Gospel,"  in  1845  ;  "  Communion  Thoughts,"  in  1850  ; 
«  Palestine  and  the  Hebrew  People,"  in  1853  ;  "  The  Harp 


112  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

and  the  Cross,"  in  1857 ;  "  Honor,  or  tlie  Slaveholder's  Daugh- 
ter,"  in  1864 ;  "  Manual  of.  the  Evidences  of  Christianity," 
in  1866  ;  and  "  Studies  in  the  Evidences  of  Christianity," 
in  1869. 

He  contributed  six  hymns  to  the  "Hymn  and  Tune 
Book  for  the  Church  and  the  Home." 

His  hymns  are  experimental  in  character,  as  in  the  follow- 
ing, called  "  The  New  Life,"  or  "  Conversation  with  Nico- 

demus  ": 

'*  How  glorious  is  the  hour 

When  first  our  souls  awake, 

Through  thy  mysterious  Spirit's  power, 

And  of  new  life  partake ! 

'*  With  richer  beauty  glows 
The  world,  before  so  fair ; 
Her  holy  light  Religion  throws, 
Reflected  everywhere. 

"  Amid  repentant  tears, 

We  feel  sweet  peace  within ; 
We  know  the  God  of  mercy  hears, 
And  pardons  every  sin. 

"  Born  of  thy  Spirit,  Lord! 
Thy  Spirit  may  we  share ! 
Deep  in  our  hearts  inscribe  thy  word. 
And  place  thine  image  there." 


GEOEGE  BURDER. 

1752-1832. 

The  Rev.  Geoege  Burder  was  the  son  of  Henry  Bur- 
der,  a  worthy  deacon  of  the  Independent  Church  of  Fetter- 
Lane,  London,  residing  in  Fair  Street,  Horseley  -  Down, 
Southwark.  His  mother  (Miss  Wildman)  was  converted 
under  the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield,  and 
was  an  excellent  Christian  woman.  George  was  born  June 
5, 1752.     In  September  following,  the  "  New  Style "  was 


GEORGE  BURDER.  113 

adopted,  and  his  birthday  was  reckoned  as  May  25th,  In 
his  tenth  year,  his  mother  was  taken  from  him  by  death. 
He  was  favored  with  good  educational  advantages.  To  the 
rudiments  of  an  ordinary  English  education,  was  added  a 
knowledge  of  the  Latin  language.  He  acquired  the  art  of 
drawing,  under  the  instruction  of  Mr.  Isaac  Taylor,  an 
artist  of  some  eminence.  He  took  lessons,  also,  in  archi- 
tecture, anatomy,  and  kindred  studies,  at  the  Royal  Acad- 
emy, Somerset  House,  London. 

A  thoughtful  child,  he  became  serious  in  early  youth. 
He  was  an  attendant  at  Whitefield's  Tabernacle,  and  there, 
September  17, 1775,  he  made  a  profession  of  religion.  Soon 
after,  he  joined  the  Evangelical  Society,  and  sought  to  enter 
the  ministry.  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  theology  were  added  to 
his  previous  attainments.  On  a  visit  to  his  father's  farm 
at  Sheriff  Hales,  he  spent  a  day  with  the  Rev.  John  W. 
Fletcher,  at  Madely,  who  urged  him  to  enter  at  once  on  the 
work  of  preaching  the  Gospel.  He  complied ;  and,  the 
next  week,  June  17, 1776,  he  preached  to  the  farm  people 
at  Moreton. 

Returning  to  London,  he  resumed  his  regular  pursuits, 
preaching  seldom ;  but  in  the  autumn  and  winter,  he 
preached  frequently  at  Lancaster  and  Ulverstone.  In 
March,  1778,  he  gave  up  the  practice  of  his  art,  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  gospel-ministry.  He  was  ordained,  October 
29,  1778,  the  pastor  of  the  Independent  Church  of  Lan- 
caster. In  this  position  he  continued  five  years,  extending, 
occasionally,  his  labors  over  a  wide  circuit  in  the  North  of 
England.  He  married,  in  1781,  Miss  Sarah  Harrison,  of 
Newcastle-under-Lyme.  Two  years  afterward,  November, 
1783,  he  became  the  pastor  of  the  West  Orchard  Chapel, 
Coventry.  Highly  honored  and  useful  as  well  as  popular, 
he  continued  here  for  twenty  years.  In  labors  abundant, 
he  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  public  enterprises  of  the 
denomination.  He  united  with  others  (1795)  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  "  London  Missionary  Society,"  of  which,  in 
1803,  he  became  the  active  and  efficient  Secretary.  He  took 
chai'ge,  also,  of  the  Fetter  Lane  Church — the  home  of  his 
8 


114  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

childlioodj — and  edited  The  Evangelical  Magazine.  He 
took  part  also  in  founding  (1799)  the  "  Religious  Tract  So- 
ciety," and  (1804)  the  "  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society." 
He  left  the  editorial  chair  in  1823,  and  the  Secretaryship 
in  1827,  but  retained  his  pastorate  until  his  decease,  May 
29, 1832,  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age. 

In  addition  to  his  numerous  editorials,  he  published, 
while  at  Lancaster  and  Coventry,  a  series  of  "Village 
Tracts,"  and  began,  in  1797,  to  publish  his  "  Village  Ser- 
mons," which  attained  great  popularity,  and  were  exceed- 
ingly useful.  He  published,  also,  "  Sea  Sermons  "  (1821), 
and  "  Cottage  Sermons "  (1826).  Of  these  three  series  of 
"  Sermons,"  about  a  million  of  copies  had  been  circulated 
in  his  life-time.  To  these  are  to  be  added,  a  "  Closet  Com- 
panion "  (first  in  the  form  of  a  Tract,  1784) ;  "  Notes  on 
Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  (1786)  ;  "  Evangelical  Truth 
Defended "  (1788) ;  "  An  Abridgment  of  Owen  on  the 
Spirit "  (1793) ;  "  Collins'  Weaver's  Pocket  Book,  or  Weav- 
ing Spiritualized  "  (1794)  ;  "  An  Abridgment  of  Owen  on 
Justification  by  Faith"  (1797);  "The  Welsh  Indians" 
(1797) ;  "  The  Life  of  Rev.  John  Machin  "  (1799) ;  "  Notes 
on  Bunyan's  Holy  War"  (1803)  ;  "Howel's  History  of  the 
Holy  Bible  enlarged  and  improved"  (1805) ;  " Mather's  Es- 
says to  do  Good,  revised  and  improved  "  (1807) ;  "  Mission- 
ary Anecdotes  "  (1811) ;  and  "  Burnham's  Pious  Memorials, 
enlarged  and  improved  "  (1820). 

The  year  after  his  settlement  at  Coventry,  he  prepared 
and  published  (1784),  for  the  use  of  his  oavu  congregation, 
"  A  Collection  of  Hymns,  from  various  Authors.  Intended 
as  a  Supplement  to  Dr.  Watts'  Hymns  and  Imitation  of 
the  Psalms,"  containing  211  hymns.  Three  of  the  hymns 
are  credited  to  his  own  pen,  as  follows : 

"Come,  ye  that  know  and  fear  the  Lord,"  etc., 
four  of  the  nine  stanzas  of  which  are  usually  omitted,  as 
quite  inferior ; 

"  Great  the  joy  when  Christians  meet,"  etc., 

which  first  stanza  is  generally  omitted,  and  in  most  CoL 
lections  the  hymn  begins, 


EICHAED  BUEDSALL.  11$ 

"  Sweet  the  time,  exceeding  sweet,"  etc. 
The  first  three  stanzas  of  his  third  hymn  follow : 

"  Come,  dear  Desire  of  nations!  come, 
And  aid  our  feeble  tongues ; 
WMle  we  thy  worthy  praise  attempt, 
In  our  unworthy  songs. 

"  By  faith  we  see,  and  we  adore 
Thy  grace,  thy  power  and  love ; 
And,  sweetly  di'awn  from  sense  and  sin, 
To  thee  our  spmts  move. 

"  Yes,  Jesus!  thou  art  our  Desire, 
In  thee  our  -wishes  meet ; 
Nor  can  the  whole  creation's  round 
Afford  a  name  so  sweet." 


RICHARD  BURDSALL. 

1735-1824. 

Mr.  Burdsall  was  a  useful  and  very  laborious  Local 
Preacher,  in  the  Wesleyan  Connection,  Yorkshire,  Eng. 
"Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Richard  Burdsall,  showing  the 
Mercy  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  to  a  Sinner,  and  containing 
his  Testimony  to  the  Truths  he  has  received  :  Written  by 
himself,"  appeared  in  1797.  Appended  to  the  "  Life  "  was 
the  hymn,  beginning  with, 

"  Now  Christ  he  is  risen,  the  serpent's  head  bruised." 

This  stanza  has  very  properly  been  omitted,  and  the  hymn 
very  soon  became  popular.  It  underwent  some  very  neces- 
sary modifications,  and,  in  1799,  appeared  in  a  Leeds 
Prayer-Meeting  Hymn-Book,  nearly  in  its  present  form,  be- 
ginning with  the  second  stanza, 

"  The  voice  of  free  grace,"  etc. 

It  seems  to  have  been  introduced  to  the  American  churches 


116  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

by  Rev.  Josliua  Spaiilding,  in  "  The  Lord's  Songs,"  com- 
piled by  Mmself,  and  published  (1805)  at  Salem,  Mass. 

Mr.  Burdsall  was  born  March  14,  1735,  at  Kirkby-Over- 
blows,  Yorkshire,  Bng.,  in  humble  circumstances.  Con- 
verted from  the  error  of  his  ways  in  early  life,  he  was  filled 
with  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  his  perishing  fellow-sinners. 
He  became  a  class-leader  among  the  Wesleyans,  and  so 
continued  to  the  end  of  life.  Not  content  with  this,  he 
followed  what  seemed  to  be  the  indications  of  the  Divine 
Will,  and  became  a  Local  Preacher.  In  this  capacity,  he 
made  fuU  proof  of  his  ministry.  Beginning  in  his  27th 
year,  he  continued  laboriously,  zealously,  and  effectively, 
for  sixty-two  years,  a  faithful  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

The  late  Thomas  Jackson,  a  distinguished  Wesleyan 
minister,  says  of  him :  "  Mr.  Burdsall  was,  in  some  respects, 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his  age.  He  was  low 
in  stature,  and  somewhat  slender  in  his  make ;  his  eyes 
were  small,  and  his  countenance  was  marked  by  a  singular 
archness  of  expression.  He  was  gifted  with  an  uncommon 
power  of  memory.  Sometimes  his  sermons  consisted,  to  a 
great  extent,  of  texts  of  Holy  Scripture,  every  one  of  which 
he  used  to  repeat  with  verbal  accuracy,  specifying,  at  the 
same  time,  the  chapter  and  verse  where  they  occur.  In  the 
pulpit,  he  occasionally  said  witty  things  which  provoked 
an  involuntary  smile  among  his  hearers,  and  sometimes 
even  more  than  a  smile ;  but  his  sermons  were  otherwise 
very  impressive.  I  have  wept  under  his  preaching,  and, 
after  hearing  him,  have  repeatedly  gone  home  to  pray." 

He  died,  at  York,  February  25,  1824  ;  and  his  son,  John, 
in  a  communication  to  the  July  Number  of  the  Wesleyan- 
Methodlst  Magazine  for  1824,  describes  him  as  "  a  simple, 
sincere,  humble,  holy,  and  faithful  disciple  of  Jesus." 
Though  "his  behavior  was  occasionally  abrupt,"  and 
"  his  general  conversation  besj)oke  a  comparatively  unculti- 
vated mind,"  yet  "  he  was  well  received  wherever  he  went ; 
and,  generally  speaking,  was  highly  esteemed  as  a  consci- 
entious, upright,  and  indefatigable  laborer  in  the  vineyard 
of  the  Lord."  "  He  came  to  the  end  of  his  glorious  course 
in  comfort,  confidence,  and  honor." 


RICHARD  BURNHAM.  117 

RICHARD  BURNHAM. 

1749-1810. 

I]!T  the  notice  of  the  Rev.  George  Burder  on  a  previous 
page,  it  is  stated  that  he  published  an  edition  of  "  Burn- 
ham's  Pious  Memorials,  enlarged  and  improved."  The  au- 
thor of  this  book  was  the  Rev.  Richard  Burnham  (1711- 
1752),  of  Guildford,  Surrey,  England.  There  his  son,  Rich- 
ard, was  born,  1749,  three  years  before  his  father's  death. 
Owing  to  this  early  affliction  his  education  was  quite 
neglected,  and  he  grew  up  without  any  settled  religious 
principles.  He  became  passionately  a,ddicted  to  frivolous 
society  and  vain  amusements. 

Having  taken  up  his  abode  at  High  Wycombe,  Bucking- 
hamshire, he  attended  the  Wesleyan  chapel,  and  was  hope- 
fully converted.  Subsequently  he  adopted  Antinomian 
views,  and,  ignorant  as  he  was,  began  to  preach  with  great 
zeal  and  considerable  effect.  Not  long  afterward  he  be- 
came a  convert  to  Baptist  views,  and  united  with  a  Particu- 
lar Baptist  church  at  Reading.  He  now  removed  to  Staines, 
Middlesex,  on  the  Thames,  about  seven  miles  below  Wind- 
sor.    Here  he  planted  a  small  Baptist  church. 

On  a  visit  to  London  (1780)  to  gather  funds  for  his 
church,  crowds  of  the  poorer  class  were  attracted  by  his 
preaching,  and  he  consented  to  become  their  minister.  A 
church  was  gathered  at  Greenwalk,  on  the  Surrey  side  of 
London,  near  Blackf riars'  Bridge,  whence,  two  years  after- 
ward, they  removed  to  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  and,  subse- 
quently, to  Edward  Street,  Soho,  a  division  having  occurred 
in  the  church,  owing  to  his  own  misconduct.  In  1795,  the 
church  removed  to  Grafton  Street,  where  he  ministered  fif- 
teen years  longer.  Here  he  finished  his  course,  October  30, 
1810.  The  epitaph  on  his  gravestone  in  the  burial-ground 
of  Tottenham  Court  Road  Chapel  describes  him  as  "  en- 
dowed with  an  ardent  zeal  for  the  Redeemer's  interest,  an 
acute  penetration,  and  vigor  of  mind  seldom  equaled"; 
and  affirms  that  "  his  ministry  was  remarkably  owned  to 


118  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUEGH. 

the  conversion  of  many."    His  private  cliaracter,  however, 

was  not  in  all  respects  above  reproach. 

While  at  Greenwalk  he  published,  in  1783,  "  ISTew  Hymns 

on  Divers  Subjects,"  thoroughly  Antinomian.     The  book 

grew,  in  subsequent  editions,  from  141  to  452  hymns.     The 

only  one  of  them  all  that  has  attained  popularity  is  the 

hymn, 

"  Jesus!  thou  art  the  sinner's  Friend,"  etc., 

which  appeared  in  his  iirst  edition,  and  is  now  used  in  an 
abridged  and  amended  form.  A  fair  specimen  of  his  other 
hymns  is  subjoined : 

"All  the  Lord's  honored  chosen  race 
Adopted  were  by  sovereign  grace ; 
As  viewed  in  Chi'ist,  they  ever  stood 
The  children  of  the  living  God. 

"The  Father's  heart  o'erflowed  with  love, 
And  sent  down  Jesus  from  above ; 
The  Son  poured  out  his  precious  blood, 
To  bring  the  children  back  to  God. 

"  Lord !  may  we  all  our  sonship  know, 
As  we  by  faith  to  Jesus  go ; 
And,  in  believing,  may  we  prove 
Our  Father's  rich  adopting  love." 


JAMES  DEUMMOND  BURNS. 

1823-1864. 

Mr.  Burns  was  a  true  Christian  and  a  true  poet, — too 
soon  called,  from  toil  and  suffering,  to  rest  and  triumph. 
He  was  the  son  of  William  Burns,  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
where  he  was  born,  February  18, 1823.  He  was  educated 
at  the  High  School,  and  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
He  was  twenty  years  old  at  the  disruption  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  Free  Church.  He 
entered  the  Theological  Hall  and  enjoyed  there  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Chalmers.    At  the  age  of 


JAMES  DRUMMOND  BURNS.  119 

twenty-two  (1845)  lie  became  the  pastor  of  the  Free  Church 
of  Dunblane. 

A  predisposition  to  consumption,  aggravated  by  hard 
study  and  the  rigors  of  the  climate,  compelled  him,  in  the 
second  year  of  his  pastorate,  to  pass  the  winter  at  Madeira. 
Keturning  home  in  1848,  his  malady  reasserted  itself,  and 
necessitated  his  resignation.  He  now  took  up  his  abode  in 
Madeii-a,  and  made  it  his  home  for  the  next  five  years. 
Here  he  wrote  "  The  Vision  of  Prophecy,  and  other  Poems," 
which  he  published  at  Edinburgh,  on  his  return  to  England, 
in  1854.  The  same  year  he  took  the  pastorate  of  Trinity 
Presbyterian  Church,  Hampstead,  that "  airy  and  delightful 
suburb  "  of  London,  of  "  far-famed  salubrity," 

'*....  coiorted  by  the  western  wind." 

He  was  then  "a  tall,  loosely-knit  man,  clad  always  in 
clerical  black,  with  the  gentlest  of  manners,  a  sad  resigned 
sort  of  voice,  and  with  great  sweetness  of  smile,  weak  and 
ill."  His  ministry  proved  very  acceptable  and  useful.  He 
was  characterized  during  this  period  by  "  a  lofty  idealism, 
which  cheerfully  accepted  homely  realities;  and  a  consum- 
mate scholarship  which  never  disdained  the  joys  and  sor- 
rows of  the  poorest ;  a  determination  to  know  nothing 
amongst  men  save  Christ  crucified,  along  with  a  necessity 
to  admire  the  wonders  of  creation  and  the  glories  of  art ; 
a  width  of  sympathy  and  a  range  of  acquirement,  which 
would  have  gladly  made  acquaintance  with  all  the  true  and 
all  the  beautiful,  but  which,  with  growing  relish,  returnee 
evermore  to  the  simplicities  of  Scripture ;  a  faith  at  home 
in  the  Westminster  formulas,  a  fancy  free  of  the  universe ; 
a  taste  which  reveled  in  the  dreamlike  descriptions  of  Ca- 
moens  and  the  mystic  intuitions  of  Wordsworth,  but  which 
could  lay  down  the  favorite  volume,  in  order  to  visit  a  re- 
formatory, or  plead  with  anxious  eagerness  the  cause  of 
some  Christian  mission."  His  sermons  were  fraught  with 
scholarly  elegance,  evangelical  truth,  and  practical  wisdom, 
"  often  bright  with  exquisite  beauty." 

A  return  of  alarming  pulmonary  disease,  at  the  expira- 


120  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

tion  of  ten  years  (January,  1864),  drove  him  to  Menton, 
France.  The  summer  found  him  again  at  the  north,  with 
some  improvement;  but,  soon  after  his  return  in  the  au- 
tumn to  Menton,  he  sank  under  the  power  of  the  disease, 
and,  in  a  state  of  entire  resignation  and  joyful  hope  in 
Christ,  he  ceased  from  suffering  and  from  life,  on  the  Sab- 
bath, ]N"ovember  27,  1864.  His  greatly  attached  friend  and 
countryman,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  James  Hamilton,  of  London, 
published  (1868)  a  highly  appreciative  "  Memoir,"  bearing 
testimony  therein  to  his  eminent  spirituality,  his  consum- 
mate scholarship,  his  exquisite  taste,  and  his  glowing  zeal 
for  the  truth  and  the  souls  of  his  fellow-men. 

His  volume  of  "  Poems,"  containing  eighty-eight  speci- 
mens, of  which  twenty- seven  are  hymns  and  meditations, 
was  reissued  in  1858.  "The  Heavenly  Jerusalem"  and 
"  The  Evening  Hymn,"  two  small  works,  were  published  in 
1856,  and  another  small  volume,  containing  three  sermons 
preached  at  Hampstead,  in  1864,  the  year  of  his  decease. 
A  posthumous  sermon  appeared  in  1865.  His  poetry  is 
very  sweet  and  beautiful,  expressed  in  a  great  variety  of 
versification,  with  an  exquisite  vein  of  fancy,  and  great  ten- 
derness. The  following  stanzas  are  from  his  hymn  entitled 
"Chastening": 

"  O  Thou,  wliose  tender  feet  have  trod 
The  thorny  path  of  woe ! 
Forbid  that  I  should  shght  the  rod, 
Or  faint  beneath  the  blow. 

"  My  spirit,  to  its  chastening  stroke, 
I  meekly  would  resign, 
Nor  murmur  at  the  heaviest  yoke, 
That  tells  me  I  am  thine. 

"  Give  me  the  spirit  of  thy  trust, 
To  suffer  as  a  son, — 
To  say,  though  lying  in  the  dust, 
'  My  Father's  will  be  done ! ' 

'*  So  will  I  bless  the  hour  that  sent 
Tlie  mercy  of  the  rod, 
And  build  an  altar  by  the  tent 
Where  I  have  met  with  God." 


JOHN  BUETON,   SEN.  121 

JOKN"  BURTON,  Sen. 
1773-1822. 

"John  BuETOisr,  of  I^ottingliam,"  was  born  February 
26,  1773.  He  was  of  a  Baptist  family,  and,  at  an  early  age, 
identified  himself  witli  the  Sunday-School  work,  then  in  its 
infancy.  For  the  use  of  the  little  ones  in  the  School  of 
which  he  was  a  teacher,  he  wrote  a  number  of  small  poems 
and  divine  songs,  which  were  published  (in  1802),  with  the 
title,  "  The  Youth's  Monitor,  in  verse.  In  a  series  of  lit- 
tle Tales,  Emblems,  Poems,  and  Songs,  Moral  and  Divine." 
This  was  followed  by  "  Hymns  for  Sunday-Schools,  or  In- 
centives to  Early  Piety,"  in  two  Parts, — of  which,  the 
first  contained  86,  and  the  second  60,  of  his  hymns.  The 
latter  Part  was  published  at  Nottingham,  in  1806.  Three 
of  his  hymns,  including 

"  Holy  Bible,  book  divine  !  "  etc., 

appeared  in  the  London  Evangelical  Magazine,  for  1805. 
The  favorite  hymn  on  the  "  Brevity  of  Life," 

*'  Time  is  winging  us  away,"  etc., 

appeared  in  "  Hjnnns  for  the  Use  of  Sunday-Schools,  Orig- 
inal and  Selected,"  published  by  the  Nottingham  Sunday- 
School  Union,  England,  and  is  there  ascribed  to  "Burton." 
He  married  in  1805,  and  in  1813  removed  to  Leicester, 
where  he  enjoyed  the  ministry  and  the  friendship  of  that 
eminent  divine,  the  Rev.  Robert  HaU.  "  The  Young  Plan- 
tation, in  Yerse,"  and  "  Tlie  Shrubbery,"  were  his  produc- 
tions. At  his  decease,  June  24, 1822,  he  left,  unpublished, 
a  volume  of  hymns  designed  for  village  worship.  The 
Nottingham  Collection  was  edited  chiefly  by  himself,  and 
the  ninth  edition  (1823)  contains  not  less  than  forty 
hymns  accredited  to  his  pen.  Yery  few  of  them  have 
any  merit,  and  only  the  two  referred  to  above  are  found 
in  modern  Collections.  Among  the  best  of  the  remainder 
is  the  following  hymn  on  "  The  Lord's  Day  Morning  "  : 


122  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECfl. 

"  The  sacred  morn  is  come, 
When,  from  the  silent  tomb, 

The  Prince  of  life  a  conqueror  rose  : 
Now  death,  with  all  his  power, 
Can  reign  o'er  him  no  more : 

Behold  !  he  triumphs  o'er  his  foes. 

"  Hail !  thou  most  holy  day ! 
When  saints  unite  to  pray. 

And  raise  their  voices  to  the  Lord ! 
Let  us  in  concert  joia. 
And  mingle  sounds  divine. 

And  pray,  and  hear  his  holy  word. 

"  The  morning  of  our  days. 
Thus  spent  La  love  and  praise. 

Will  sweeten  much  declining  hours ; 
Thus  may  our  lives  display 
Our  love  to  Wisdom's  way, 

And  joy,  and  peace,  and  heaven  be  ours." 


JOHN  BURTON,  Jun. 

1803 . 

John  BuRxoisr,  of  Essex,  the  son  of  John  Burton,  of 
Stratford,  in  Essex,  was  born  there,  July  23,  1803.  His 
father  was  a  cooper  and  basket-maker.  Both  of  his  par- 
ents were  devout  members  of  the  Congregational  Church. 
From  his  childhood,  the  son,  also,  has  lived  a  life  of  prayer. 
Until  his  thirteenth  year,  he  was  educated  in  the  grammar- 
school  of  the  town.  From  his  fifteenth  year,  for  ten  years, 
he  was,  most  of  the  time,  laid  aside  by  a  painful  illness. 
On  leaving  school,  he  became  his  father's  assistant  in  busi- 
ness, and,  at  the  father's  death,  in  1840,  his  successor.  He 
has  long  been  a  deacon  of  the  Congregational  Church,  and 
an  effective  Sunday- School  teacher. 


JOHN  BURTON,  JUN.  123 

In  the  intervals  of  business  and  illness,  Mr.  Burton  has 
been  a  diligent  student.  With  an  early  propensity  to  ver- 
sification, he  began,  in  his  twentieth  year,  to  contribute 
both  poetry  and  prose  to  the  magazines.  His  first  poetic 
contribution  appeared  in  the  Supplemental  Number  of 
the  Er>angelical  Magazine,  for  1822.     In  1824  his  hymn, 

"  O  Thou  that  hearest  prayer  ! "  etc., 

appeared  in  the  Baptist  Magazine,  London.  His  "  Scrip- 
ture Characters  in  Verse,"  was  published  by  the  "  Religious 
Tract  Society,"  about  1840 ;  his  "  One  Hundred  Original 
Hymns  for  the  Young,"  in  1850  ;  and  his  "  Hymns  for  Lit- 
tle Children,"  (5'4  in  number),  in  1851.  He  Avrote,  also, 
"  Charles  Murray,"  and  "  Conversation  on  Prayer,"  published 
by  the  Tract  Society.  His  principal  prose  work,  "  Chris- 
tian Devotedness,"  was  issued  in  1860.  It  was  written, 
mostly,  before  day,  during  three  successive  winter  seasons. 
His  "  Book  of  Psalms  in  English  Verse,"  "  on  which  he  was 
occasionally  engaged  during  47  years,"  was  published  in 
1871.  One  of  his  prose  works  is  entitled  "  War  irreconcil- 
able with  Christianity."  His  "  Hymns  for  Little  Children," 
has  been  republished  in  Philadelphia,  with  the  title,  "  My 
Own  Hymn  Book." 

The  following  stanzas  are  from  a  hymn  contn^vted  to 
Rogers'  "Lyi^a  Britannica"  (1866) : 

*'  Jesus,  our  Lord!  to  thee  we  raise 
A  song  of  gratitude  and  praise, — 

To  thee,  our  Saviour  King : 
Spirit  Divine !  thy  grace  impart. 
Wake  every  power,  warm  every  heart. 

Redeeming  love  to  sing. 

"  Redeeming  love !  what  theme  but  this 
Inspires,  with  ecstasy  of  bliss. 

The  harps  befoi'e  the  throne, 
Where  angels  lead  th'  enraptured  song. 
And  ransomed  souls  the  strain  prolong, 

With  joys  on  earth  unknown." 


124  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

JOHN  BYROM. 
1691-1763. 

Dr.  John  Byeom  was  one  of  "  The  Lancasliire  Worthies," 
celebrated  in  a  recent  volume  by  "Francis  Epinasse."  He 
was  the  younger  son  of  Edward  Byrom,  a  linen- di'aper,  or 
"  warehouse  man,"  of  Manchester,— a  gentleman  "  of  good 
birth  as  well  as  comfortable  circumstances."  The  son  was 
born,  in  1691,  at  Kersall,  the  family  home,  near  Manches- 
ter. His  father  took  special  care  to  give  him  an  excellent 
education.  His  preparatory  course  was  pursued  at  the 
Merchant  Taylors'  School,  London.  He  entered  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge,  July  6, 1708,  and  graduated,  A.B.,  1711, 
and  A.  M. ,  1715.  He  was  chosen,  in  1714,  a  Fellow  of  his  Col- 
lege. The  same  year,  as  "  John  Shadow,"  he  contributed  two 
Essays  on  "Dreaming,"  Nos.  586  and  593,  to  The  Specta- 
tor. His  famous  Pastoral,  "Colin  and  Phoebe,"  ap- 
peared in  No.  603.  His  Fellowship  required  of  him  to 
take  orders  in  the  Church  ;  and,  as  he  could  not  conscien- 
tiously comply,  he  resigned  it  in  1716,  and  repaired  to 
Montpellier,  France,  to  pursue  the  study  of  medicine.  Here 
he  became  imbued  with  the  mysticisms  of  Dr.  Henry  More, 
Antoinette  Bourignon,  Madame  Guyon,  Jacob  Behmen, 
and  Malebranche. 

Returning  to  England,  he  settled  in  London,  as  a  phy- 
sician. Shortly  after,  he  married  Elizabeth,  the  daughter 
of  his  uncle,  Joseph  Byrom,  and  thereby  incurred  the  dis- 
pleasure of  his  wealthy  kindred.  Having  invented  a  sys- 
tem of  stenography,  an  art  very  highly  prized  at  that  day 
by  statesmen  and  others,  he  became  a  short-hand  teacher. 
His  art  brought  him  a  handsome  income,  and  the  friend- 
ship of  many  men  of  quality.  It  procured  him  also  the 
degree  of  F.R.S.  On  the  death,  some  years  later,  of  his 
elder  brother,  Edward,  he  became  the  owner  of  the  family 
estates,  and  thenceforward  he  gave  himself  to  literary  pur- 
suits.    He  made  the  acquaintance  of  Charles  Wesley,  in 


JOHN  BYEOM.  125 

1738,  and  thereby  became  a  true  convert  to  the  religion  of 
tlie  Cross. 

He  had  a  great  facility  in  versification,  and  his  style  was 
often  quite  sprightly.  So  accustomed  was  he  to  use  the 
language  of  poetry,  that  he  always  found  it  the  easier  way 
of  expressing  himself  on  all  occasions.  The  well-known 
fable  of  "  Three  Black  Crows,"  from  his  pen,  shows  some- 
thing of  his  humor.  He  was  very  much  addicted  to  the  epi- 
gram. It  was  he  that  wrote  the  famous  epigram  on 
"  Handel  and  Bononcini "  : 

"  Some  say,  compared  to  Bononcini, 
That  Mynheer  Handel 's  but  a  ninny ; 
Others  aver,  that  he  to  Handel 
Is  scarcely  fit  to  hold  a  candle : 
Strange  all  this  difference  should  be 
'Twixt  Tweedledum  and  Tweedledee ! " 

He  belonged  to  a  family  that  were  "  Tories  of  the  To- 
ries," and  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  Pretender, 
Charles  Edward,  to  Manchester,  in  1745,  he  made  one  of 
his  court.  Being  brought  into  question  for  it  by  an  officer 
of  the  army,  he  gave  utterance  to  the  following  epigram  : 

"  God  bless  the  King! — I  mean  the  Faith's  Defender; 
Grod  bless — no  harm  in  blessing — the  Pretender ! 
But  who  Pretender  is,  or  who  is  King, — 
God  bless  us  all! — that's  quite  another  thing." 

John  Wesley  said  of  his  "Poems,"  that  they  contain 
"  some  of  the  finest  sentiments  that  ever  appeared  in  the 
English  tongue, — some  of  the  noblest  truths,  expressed 
with  the  utmost  energy  of  language,  and  the  strongest  col- 
ors of  poetry."  In  1749,  appeared  his  "Epistle  to  a  Gen- 
tleman of  the  Temple";  in  1751,  "Enthusiasm,  a  Poem"; 
in  1755,  "  The  Contest "  between  Blank  Verse  and  Rhyme. 
He  published  in  the  "Philosophical  Transactions,"  1748, 
an  account  of  his  system  of  stenography.  He  died,  in 
great  peace,  September  28, 1763. 

After  his  decease,  his  "  Universal  Short  Hand  "  was  pub- 
lished in  1767,  and,  in  1773,  his  "  Miscellaneous  Poems,"  in 


126  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

two  volumes.  Two  of  the  Wesleys'  hymns,  by  the  inad- 
vertence of  the  editor,  are  included  in  this  collection. 
They  begin  with — 

"World!  adieu!  thou  real  cheat," 

and 

"Come,  Saviour  Jesus  I  from  above." 

They  are  both  found  in  "  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,  by  J. 
and  C.  Wesley,  1739."  He  wrote  the  Christmas  Carol,  be- 
ginning with 

"Christians!  awake,  salute  the  happy  mom." 

The  original  contains  forty-eight  lines,  heroic  measure. 

"  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  my  Guardian  and  Guide,"  etc., 

is  taken  from  one  of  his  poems,  containing  ten  double 
stanzas.     The  hymn, 

"My  spirit  longs  for  thee,"  etc., 

is  entitled  "The  Desponding  Soul's  Wish."  He  wrote, 
also,  an  "Answer"  to  it,  in  the  same  peculiar  style,  the 
first  stanza  of  which  is  as  follows : 

"  Cheer  up,  desponding  soul! 
Thy  longing,  pleased,  I  see ; 
'Tis  part  of  that  great  whole. 
Wherewith  I  longed  for  thee." 

"  The  Literary  Remains  of  John  Byrom,"  including  his 
Diaries,  were  published,  1857,  by  Dr.  John  Parkinson,  for 
the  Cheetham  Society.  They  furnish  numerous  graphic 
illustrations  of  his  Life  and  Times. 


EGBERT  CAMPBELL. 

1868. 


Mr.  Campbell   is  known,  in  hymnology,  only  as  the 
translator  of  several  Latin  hymns  from  the  Breviary  and 


THOMAS  CAMPBELL.  127 

other  sources.  He  was  an  advocate  of  the  city  of  Edin- 
burgh,  where  he  died,  December  29,  1868, 

He  belonged  to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  and  was 
an  extreme  ritualist.  In  1850,  at  the  suggestion  and  un- 
der the  revision  of  Rev.  Dr.  Patrick  Torry,  the  Bishop  of 
the  Episcopal  Diocese  of  St.  Andrew's,  he  compiled  a  Man- 
ual of  Praise,  entitled,  "  Hymns  and  Anthems  for  Use  in  the 
Holy  Service  of  the  Church."  Some  few  of  the  hymns,  and 
several  of  the  translations,  were  from  his  pen,  including 

"Ye  choirs  of  New  Jerusalem,"  etc, 
"  At  the  Lamb's  high  feast  we  sing,"  etc. 

He  made  "  the  freest  use  of  the  previous  labors  of  others," 
in  his  translations  and  compilations.  The  editors  of 
"  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern "  introduced  several  of 
them,  somewhat  modified,  into  their  compilation.  "Ye 
choirs  of  New  Jerusalem  "  is  a  free  translation  of  Fulbert's 
Latin  hymn, 

"Chorus  novae  Jerusalem,"  etc. 

"  At  the  Lamb's  high  feast  we  sing  "  is,  also,  a  free  trans- 
lation of  a  Breviary  hymn, 

"Ad  regias  Agni  dapes,"  etc. 


THOMAS  CAMPBELL. 

1777-1844. 

Alexatstder  and  Maegaret  Campbell,  the  parents  of 
Thomas,  were  residents  of  High  Street,  Glasgow,  Scotland. 
There  the  son  was  born,  July  27,  1777  (the  youngest  of 
eleven  children),  in  his  father's  sixty-eighth  year.  His 
early  instructor  was  David  Alison,  an  eminent  teacher. 
In  his  eleventh  year,  he  wrote  verses  ;  at  twelve,  he  made 
poetic  versions  of  Anacreon,  as  school  exercises.  He  en- 
tered the  University  of  Glasgow,  October,  1791,  and  gradu- 


128  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ated  in  May,  1796.  He  was  a  proficient  in  Greek  and  in 
poetry.  His  poetical  translations  of  ^scliylus,  Sophocles, 
and  Aristophanes,  were  greatly  admired.  He  wrote,  also, 
several  prize  poems. 

Leaving  the  University,  he  obtained  a  tutorship  at 
Dounie,  Argyleshire,  where,  among  the  rugged  and  vnld 
scenery  of  the  north,  his  passion  for  song  was  greatly  in- 
vigorated. At  the  end  of  a  year,  he  made  his  way  to  Edin- 
burgh and  studied  law  for  a  season.  He  then  gave  himself 
to  the  pursuit  of  literature.  Mundell  &  Son  gave  him 
twenty  pounds  for  an  abridgment  of  Bryan  Edwards' 
"West  Indies."  They  also  published,  April -27,  1799,  his 
"Pleasures  of  Hope."  It  attracted  great,  and  even  enthu- 
siastic, admiration,  and  at  once  gave  him  prominence  in  the 
literary  world. 

He  visited  the  Continent,  June,  1800,  and  at  Altona,  Ger- 
many, met  with  a  number  of  Irish  refugees.  This  occa- 
sioned his  popular  ballad, 

"  There  came  to  the  beach  a  poor  exile  of  Erin,"  etc. 

Written  in  November,  1800,  it  was  published,  January  28, 

1801,  in  The  Morning  Chronicle.  His  "  poor  exile "  was 
Anthony  McCann.     That  famous  ballad, 

"  Ye  Mariners  of  England ! "  etc., 

was  also  written,  about  the  same  time,  at  Altona.  His 
"  Soldier's  Dream," 

"Our  bugles  sang  truce,  for  the  night-cloud  had  lowered,"  etc., 

was  occasioned  by  an  incident  on  the  battle-field  of  Ratis- 
bon,  which  he  visited  in  the  autumn  of  1800. 

Returning  to  England  in  April,  1801,  he  visited  London, 
where  he  learned  that  his  father  had  just  died.     In  June, 

1802,  on  a  visit  home,  he  wrote  "  Lochiel "  and  "  Hohenlin- 
den."  Going  back  to  London,  he  engaged,  the  following 
winter,  to  write  "  The  Annals  of  Great  Britain  from  the 
Accession  of  George  III.  to  the  Peace  of  Amiens,"  as  a 
Continuation  of  Smollett's  History  of  England.     An  en- 


THOMAS  CAMPBELL.  129 

larged  edition  of  his  "  Poems "  was  issued  in  June,  1803. 
He  married,  September  10,  1803,  his  cousin,  Matilda  Sin- 
clair. A  literary  pension  was  conferred  on  him,  October  1, 
1805. 

Necessity  compelled  him  to  literary  labor.  His  "  Speci- 
mens of  the  British  Poets,"  published  in  1819,  occupied 
much  of  his  time  for  a  dozen  years.  "  Gertrude  of  Wyom- 
ing" appeared  in  1809.  He  visited  France  in  1814,  and 
Germany,  in  1820.  He  then  became  the  editor  of  the  New 
MontJily  Magazine,  and  removed  to  London  in  1821. 
"  The  Last  Man "  was  issued  in  1823,  and  "  Theodoric,"  in 
1824.  His  Lectures  on  "  Greek  Poetry  "  were  first  printed 
in  the  Neio  MontJily.  He  projected  the  "  London  Univer- 
sity," and  labored  much  to  found  it.  He  was  chosen  in 
1826,  and  for  two  more  successive  years,  Lord  Rector  of 
the  University  of  Glasgow.  At  the  close  of  1830,  he  left 
the  New  Monthly,  and  the  following  year  took  charge  of 
the  Metropolitan  Magazine.  "  The  Life  of  Mrs.  Siddons  " 
appeared  in  1834. 

Campbell  went  abroad  the  same  year,  and  visited  Algiers. 
On  his  return,  in  1835,  he  prepared,  and  published  the  fol- 
lowing year,  his  "Letters  from  the  South."  Tliis  was  fol- 
lowed, in  1837,  by  "The  Scenic  Annual."  He  began,  but 
did  not  complete,  an  edition  of  Shakespeare.  He  revisited 
(1841)  the  German  States,  and  the  same  year  published  his 
"Life  and  Times  of  Petrarch."  In  1842  his  "Pilgrim  of 
Glencoe  "  appeared  ;  and,  the  next  year,  an  elegant  edition 
of  his  collected  "  Poems."    Although  the  hymn, 

"When  Jordan  hushed  his  watei's  stiU,"  etc., 

does  not  appear  in  this  edition,  its  authorship  is  claimed 
for  him  by  Dr.  William  Beattie,  his  biographer. 

The  failure  of  his  health  compelled  a  change  of  climate. 
He  found  a  retreat  at  Boulogne,  France ;  and  there,  with 
the  exception  of  a  short  visit  to  London  in  August,  he  re- 
sided from  July,  1843,  until  his  decease,  June  15,  1844. 
His  remains  were  laid  to  rest,  July  3d,  in  Westminster 
Abbey. 

9 


130  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

He  was  below  tlie  middle  stature,  of  good  proportions, 
thongli  somewhat  slender.  He  had  large  deep-blue  eyes, 
an  aquiline  nose,  and  generally  a  saturnine  expression. 
His  hair  was  dark.  His  features  indicated  great  sensibil- 
ity, even  to  fastidiousness.  He  was  fond  of  recondite 
studies,  and  had  a  passion  for  Greece,  her  language  and 
her  arts.  He  studied  mostly  at  night..  He  was  quick  in 
his  movements,  and  highly  impulsive.  He  was  given  to 
absent-mindedness,  was  warm-hearted,  and  of  kindly  dis- 
position. The  following  "  Lines  written  in  Sickness  "  show 
something  of  his  more  serious  style : 

"  Oh  death!  if  there  be  quiet  in  thine  arms, 

And  I  must  cease — gently,  oh !  gently  come 
To  me,  and  let  my  soul  learn  no  alarms ; 

But  strike  me,  ere  a  shriek  can  echo,  dumb, 
Senseless  and  breathless. — And  thou,  sickly  life  1 

If  the  decree  be  writ  that  I  must  die. 
Do  thou  be  guilty  of  no  needless  strife, 

Nor  pull  me  downwards  to  mortality. 
When  it  were  fitter  I  should  take  a  flight — 

But  whither  ?    Holy  Pity!  hear,  oh!  hear; 
And  lift  me  to  some  far-off  skyey  sphere, 

Where  I  may  wander  in  celestial  light : 
Might  it  be  so — then  would  my  spirit  fear 

To  quit  the  things  I  have  so  loved,  when  seen — 

The  air,  the  pleasant  sun,  the  summer  green, — 
Knowing  how  few  would  shed  one  kindly  tear, 

Or  keep  ia  mind  that  I  had  ever  been." 


JOSEPH  DACRE  CARLYLE. 

1758-1804. 

This  eminent  Orientalist  was  the  son  of  George  Carlyle, 
M.D.,  of  Carlisle,  Eng.,  where  he  was  born,  June  4,  1758. 
He  was  educated  first  at  Christchurch,  and  then  at  Queen's 
College,  Cambridge,  graduating,  A.B.,  1779,  A.M.,  1782, 
and  S.T.B.,  1793.      He  obtained  a  Fellowship  in    1781. 


JOSEPH  DACRE  CAELYLE.  Igl 

WTiile  in  college,  he  associated  witli  David  Zamio,  a  native 
of  Bagdad,  and  thus  was  led  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the 
Arabic  language,  in  which  he  soon  became  a  proficient. 
Losing  his  Fellowship  by  his  marriage  in  1793,  he  obtained 
church  preferment,  and  was  appointed  Chancellor  of  Car- 
lisle, as  successor  to  Rev.  Dr.  William  Paley.  Two  years 
later  he  was  made  Professor  of  the  Arabic  Language  in 
Cambridge  University. 

When  Thomas  Bruce,  Earl  of  Elgin,  was  sent  (1799)  as 
Ambassador  to  the  Porte,  Prof.  Carlyle  accompanied  the 
embassy,  to  explore  the  literary  treasures  in  the  public 
library  of  Constantinople.  Thence  he  made  excursions  into 
the  Archipelago,  Greece,  Asia  Minor,  Syiia,  and  Egypt.  He 
returned,  in  1801,  through  Italy  and  Germany,  and  was 
presented  to  the  rectory  of  ISTewcastle-upon-Tyne.  In  the 
full  maturity  of  his  powders,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  im- 
portant literary  pursuits,  he  was  removed  by  death,  April 
12,  1804.  "  The  urbanity  of  his  manners,  the  cheerfulness 
of  his  social  life,  his  great  modesty,  his  active  benevolence, 
and  his  sincere  piety,  as  well  as  his  great  learning,  procured 
for  him  the  warm  love  and  genuine  respect  of  all  who 
knew  him,  and  rendered  his  death  a  public  calamity." 

Sir  Samuel  Egerton  Brydges,  who  knew  him  in  college, 
described  him  as  "  a  tall,  dark,  thin  man,  of  reserved  man- 
ners, and  recluse  habits,"  and  says  that  he  was  supposed  to 
be  "of  a  noble  Scotch  origin." 

He  published  (1792)  "Rerum  ^gypticarum  Annales 
(971-1453)  Arab,  et  Lat."  His  "Translations  of  Select 
Pieces  of  Arabic  Poetry  "  appeared  in  1796.  On  his  return 
from  the  East,  he  undertook  the  supervision  of  an  edition 
of  the  Arabic  Bible,  which  finally  was  issued  in  1811.  He 
had  made  extensive  preparations  to  utilize  his  linguistic 
acquisitions  while  in  the  Orient,  by  the  publication  of  a 
revised  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament — a  project  that  was 
cut  off  by  his  death.  His  "  Poems,  suggested  by  scenes  in 
Asia  Minor,  Syria,  and  Greece,"  with  miscellaneous  pieces 
appended,  appeared  (180o)  the  year  after  his  decease,  edited 
by  his  sister,  Susanna  Maria.     The  hymn, 

"  Lord!  when  we  bend  before  tby  throne,"  etc., 


132  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

appears  in  these  miscellanies.    The  following  three  stanzas 
are  from  his  hymn  "  On  the  Lord's  Prayer": 

"  Father  of  heaven,  whose  gracious  hand 
Dispenses  good  in  boundless  store ! 
May  every  breath  thy  praise  expand, 
And  every  heart  thy  name  adore. 

"  Great  Lord!  may  all  our  wakened  powers 
To  spread  thy  sway  exulting  join, 
Till  we  shall  dare  to  think  thee  ovirs. 
And  thou  shalt  deign  to  make  us  thine. 

"  Whate'er  thy  will,  may  we  display 
Hearts  that  submit  without  a  sigh ; 
Whate'er  thy  law,  may  we  obey. 

Like  raptured  saints,  and  feel  its  joy." 


ALICE  AND  PHCEBE  GARY. 

1824-1871. 

The  gifted  sisters,  Alice  and  Phoebe  Gary,  were  natives 
of  Hamilton  Co.,  Ohio.  Their  father,  Robert  Cary  (1787- 
1866),  when  a  boy  of  fifteen  years,  had  removed  from  Lyme, 
N.  H.,  with  his  father,  Christopher,  to  occupy  a  land  grant, 
on  a  warrant  given  to  Christopher  as  a  Revolutionary 
soldier.  The  family  were  originally  from  Windham,  Conn. , 
and  descendants  of  John  Cary,  a  Plymouth  Pilgrim  of  1630. 

Robert  Cary  was  a  man  of  superior  intelligence,  of  ex- 
cellent moral  character,  fond  of  poetry  and  romance,  and 
quite  religiously  inclined.  He  married,  January  13,  1814, 
Elizabeth  Jessup,  "blue-eyed  and  beautiful";  "of  su- 
perior intellect,  and  of  good,  well-ordered  life " ;  "fond  of 
history,  politics,  moral  essays,  biography,"  and  polemic 
divinity.  Six  daughters  and  three  sons  were  born  to  them, 
Alice  being  the  fourth,  and  Phoebe  the  sixth  child.  They 
resided  on  a  picturesque  and  fertile  farm,  in  the  broad  and 
beautiful  lap  of  the  Miami  Yalley,  about  eight  miles  north 
of  Cincinnati.     Their  home  was,  until  1832,  a  small  un- 


ALICE  AND  PHG:BE  CAEY.  133 

painted  wooden  building,  one  story  and  a  half  in  height, 
facing  the  west,  with  a  long  porch  across  its  north  side, 

"  Low,  and  little,  and  black,  and  old, 
With  children  many  as  it  can  hold." 

The  new  house,  into  which  they  moved  in  the  autumn  of 
1832,  was  much  more  roomy  and  comfortable.  Such  was 
the  "Clovernook,"  of  which  the  sisters  retained  such  a 
loving  and  fond  remembrance. 

In  this  "sequestered  vale"  Alice  Gary  was  born,  April 
26,  1820,  and  Phcebe,  September  4,  1824.  Their  schooling 
was  obtained  in  a  low  and  plain  one-story  brick  building, 
a  mile  and  a  quarter  from  home,  reached  always  on  foot. 
The  literary  treasures  of  theii'  homestead  were  a  Bible, 
Hymn-Book,  "Lewis  and  Clark's  Travels,"  "Pope's  Es- 
says," the  "History  of  the  Jews,"  and  "Charlotte  Tem- 
ple." The  parents  had  early  become  Universalists,  and 
The  Trumpet  was  a  weekly  visitor. 

Inheriting  a  poetic  temperament,  the  two  sisters  took 
delight,  from  their  childliood,  in  the  rhyming  art.  Their 
poems  were  contributed,  in  the  first  instance,  to  Universalist 
periodicals,  and  Cincinnati  journals ;  then  to  the  Ladies^ 
Repository^  of  Boston,  and  that  of  Cincinnati;  after- 
wards to  Graham) s  Magazine,  New  York,  and  the  National 
Era,  Washington,  D.  C.  These  productions  were  collected, 
and  published,  by  Rev.  Rufus  W.  Griswold,  in  1850,  at 
Philadelphia,  with  the  title,—"  Poems  of  Alice  and  Phoebe 
Cary."  In  the  summer  of  the  same  year,  they  visited  the 
Eastern  States,  and  met  with  a  cordial  reception,  forming 
not  a  few  valuable  friendships. 

An  affair  of  the  heart  had  broken  the  health  and  spirits 
of  Alice,  and  in  November,  1850,  she  came  to  New  York  to 
make  herself  a  new  home,  and  enter  upon  her  life-work. 
Phcebe,  and  a  younger  sister,  Elmina,  followed  her,  in 
AprU,  1851.  They  hired  rooms  in  a  quiet  neighborhood 
(No.  75  W.  13th  St.) ;  and,  five  years  afterwards,  they  took 
the  cosey  house.  No.  52  E.  20th  St.,  which  they  occupied 
to  the  end  of  their  earthly  pilgrimage.     They  soon  sur- 


134  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

rounded  themselves  with,  friends  of  a  kindred  spirit,  and 
their  humble  home  became  the  centre  and  loved  resort  of 
a  literary  coterie  of  singular  worth.  They  managed,  with 
strict  economy,  to  sustain  themselves  by  their  pens,  and  to 
secure  a  comjDetence. 

Phcebe  Gary,  in  March,  1852,  became  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  the  Puritans,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev,  George 
B.  Cheever,  D.D.;  and,  after  the  removal  of  that  church 
to  a  remote  neighborhood,  she  became  an  attendant  of  the 
Church  of  the  Strangers,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Charles 
F.  Deems,  D.D.  She  is  described  (in  the  winter  of  1853-4, 
her  30th  year)  as  "  still  young  and  striking  in  her  appear- 
ance, with  keen,  merry,  black  eyes,  full  of  intelligence 
and  spirit,  a  full,  well-proportioned  figure,  and  very  char- 
acteristic in  gesture,  aspect,  and  dress."  She  was  full  of 
delicate  wit  and  humor, — the  life  of  every  circle  in  which 
she  mingled.  "  Some  one  remarked,"  says  a  friend,  "her 
resemblance  to  Sappho,  as  she  is  known  to  us  by  the  bust, 
and  by  descriptions;  the  olive-brown  tint,  the  stature 
rather  under-size,  the  low  brow,  etc." 

She  published,  in  1854,  her  "Poems  and  Parodies"; 
and,  in  1868,  her  "Poems  of  Faith,  Hope,  and  Love."  In 
connection  with  her  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Deems,  she  com- 
piled, and  published  (1869),  "Hymns  for  all  Christians";  a 
Manual  of  Hymns,  Spiritual  Songs,  and  Lyrics,  one  hun- 
dred of  each.  Her  sister,  Alice,  who  for  years  had  been 
declining  in  health,  ceased  from  labor  and  from  mortal 
life,  February  12,  1871.  Phoebe  keenly  felt  the  severing 
of  the  cords  that  bound  her  to  her  greatly  endeared  sister, 
but,  for  a  season,  bore  up  bravely  under  the  afiiiction.  It 
proved,  however,  too  much  for  her.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
months,  nature  gave  way,  and  she  died,  at  Newport,  R.  I., 
July  31, 1871,  in  the  forty-seventh  year  of  her  age.  The 
sisters  sleep,  side  by  side,  beneath  the  turf  in  Greenwood. 

To  an  inquiring  friend,  Phoebe  Cary  wrote,  the  year  be- 
fore her  death,  in  respect  to  the  hymn,  by  which  she  is 
everywhere  known, 

"  One  sweetly  solemn  thought,"  etc., — 


EDWARD  CASWALL.  135 

"The  hymn  was  written  eighteen  years  ago  (1852),  in 
your  house.  I  composed  it  in  the  little  back  third-story 
bedroom,  one  Sunday  morning,  after  coming  from  church." 
It  was,  doubtless,  inspii^ed  by  the  morning  sermon.  As 
originally  written,  the  measure  was  quite  irregular,  and  the 
rhythm  imperfect.  Some  slight  alterations  were  needed  to 
adapt  it  to  a  suitable  metrical  tune. 

The  following  stanzas  are  from  one  of  her  last  poems, 
entitled,  "  Waiting  the  Change  ": 

"  Though  some,  whose  presence  once 

Sweet  comfort  round  me  shed, 
Here  in  the  body  walk  no  more 

The  way  that  I  must  tread. 
Not  they,  but  what  they  were. 

Went  to  the  house  of  fear ; 
They  were  the  incorruptible, 

They  left  corruption  here. 

"Thank  God !  for  all  my  loved, 

That,  out  of  pain  and  care. 
Have  safely  reached  the  heavenly  heights, 

And  stay  to  meet  me  there : 
Not  these  I  moiu'n ;  I  know 

Then'  joy  by  faith  sublime ; — 
But  for  myself,  that  still  below 

Must  wait  my  appointed  time." 


EDWARD  CASWALL. 

1814^1878. 

Edwakd  Caswall  is  an  "Oxford  Pervert."  His  father, 
the  Rev.  R.  C.  Caswall,  was  the  Vicar  of  West  Lavington, 
Wiltshire,  England,  and  previously  Perpetual  Curate  of 
Yateley,  Hampshire.  His  mother  was  a  niece  of  the  Rt. 
Rev.  Thomas  Burgess,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  St.  David,  and 
afterwards  of  Salisbury.  The  father  was  a  descendant  of 
Sir  George  Caswall,  Kt.,  who  was  comjDromised  in  the  affairs 


136  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

of  the  South-Sea  Company  (1720).  Tlie  family  were  pos- 
sessed of  a  considerable  estate.  The  son,  Edward,  was  born, 
July  15,  1814,  at  Yateley,  and  was  the  fourth  of  nine  chil- 
dren. His  eldest  brother.  Rev.  Henry  Caswall,  D.D.,  ac- 
companied Bishop  Chase,  of  Ohio,  in  1829,  to  the  United 
States,  was  the  first  graduate  of  Kenyon  College,  and  was 
afterwards  Theological  Professor  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  and 
St.  Louis,  Mo., — returning  to  England  in  1842,  when  he  pub- 
lished his  book  on  the  "  Mormons,"  having  in  1839  pub- 
lished his  "America  and  the  American  Church."  He  is 
now  Prebendary  of  Salisbury  Cathedral. 

After  a  i^reparatory  training  at  the  grammar-schools 
of  Chigwell  and  Marlborough,  Edward  entered  Brasenose 
College,  Oxford,  in  1832.  Previous  to  his  graduation 
(1836),  he  contributed,  to  the  Metropolitan  Magazine^  a 
series  of  papers,  entitled  "The  Oxonian."  His  "Art  of 
Pluck  "  (1835),  a  satire  on  the  idle  and  wasteful  habits  of 
the  Oxford  boys,  was  very  popular,  and  speedily  went 
through  eleven  editions.  His  "  Sketches  of  Young  Ladies," 
a  similar  satire,  was  equally  popular.  In  the  summer  of 
1835,  he  visited  Italy  and  other  parts  of  the  Continent. 

He  remained,  as  "  Hulme  Exhibitioner,"  studying  divinity, 
at  Oxford,  two  years,  when  he  was  ordained,  by  Et.  Rev. 
George  Henry  Law,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells  (1838) 
a  deacon,  and  (1839)  a  priest.  In  the  meantime,  he  pub- 
lished "Morals  from  the  Church  Yard"  (1838),  and  therein 
showed  some  tendencies  towards  Romanism.  He  served  as 
Curate,  successively,  at  Bishop's  Norton,  near  Taunton,  at 
Milverton,  and  at  St.  Dunstan's  in  the  West,  London.  In 
1840,  he  became  Perpetual  Curate  of  Stratford,  near  Salis- 
bury. He  married  (1841)  Louisa,  the  only  child  of  General 
Walker,  at  Taunton,  with  whom  (1845)  he  again  visited  the 
Continent.  They  returned,  quite  in  love  with  the  pomp  of 
the  Roman  ritual.  He  had  already  received,  with  eager- 
ness, the  "Tracts  for  the  Times,"  and  other  kindred  publi- 
cations. 

As  the  result,  he  resigned  (March,  1846)  his  church-liv- 
ing, and  published  "  The  Child's  Manual,"  and  "  Sermons 


EDWARD  CASWALL.  137 

on  the  Seen  and  Unseen."  A  visit  to  the  eastern  and  south- 
ern parts  of  Ireland,  the  same  year,  confirmed  him  in  his 
leanings  towards  the  Papacy.  His  father  died  soon  after, 
and,  in  December,  he  proceeded  with  his  wife  to  Rome, 
where,  in  January,  1847,  they  were  both  received  into  the 
Church  of  Rome.  His  younger  brother,  Thomas,  Fellow 
of  Clare  Hall,  Cambridge,  had  taken  a  similar  step  shortly 
before. 

On  his  return  home,  he  was  occupied,  during  the  follow- 
ing two  years,  in  translating  the  Breviary  Hymns,  as  pub- 
lished (1849)  in  his  "Lyra  Catholica."  The  "Altar  Man- 
ual," translated  from  the  French  by  Mrs.  Caswall,  was  pub- 
lished about  the  same  time.  They  removed  to  Torquay, 
early  in  the  autumn,  where  Mrs.  Caswall  became  (Septem- 
ber 14, 1849)  a  victim  of  the  Asiatic  Cholera.  In  December 
he  repaired  to  Dr.  Newman's  Oratory  at  Birmingham,  was 
received  on  probation  into  the  Order,  March  29,  1850,  and 
finally  into  the  priesthood,  Sejjtember  18, 1852.  His  ful] 
admission  to  the  Oratory  took  place,  January  18, 1854. 

He  published,  afterwards :  (1855)  "  Hours  at  the  Altar,"  a 
translation  from  the  French,  and  "Yerba  Verbi;  or,  the 
Words  of  Jesus,  arranged  in  the  Order  of  Time  as  a  Daily 
Companion,"  etc. ;  (1858)  "  The  Masque  of  Mary,  and  Other 
Poems,"  of  which  forty-nine  are  Translations ;  (1861)  "  Con- 
fraternity Manual  of  the  Most  Precious  Blood,"  etc. ;  (1862) 
"  Love  for  Holy  Church";  and  (1865)  "A  May  Pageant  and 
Other  Poems."  He  also  assisted  his  college-friend,  Rev. 
Henry  Formby  (who,  also,  had  become  a  Romanist)  in  bring- 
ing out  his  series  of  hymns.    He  died,  January  2,  1878. 

Mr.  Caswall's  translations  are  of  a  high  order,  and  many 
of  them  are  used  extensively,  both  by  Protestants  and  Ro- 
manists. More  than  thirty  of  them  hav^  been  adopted  by 
Protestant  Compilers, — notably  those  of  "  Hymns  Ancient 
and  Modern"  (1861)  and  "The  People's  Hymnal"  (1867). 
The  follovmig  stanzas  are  from  his  " Masque  of  Mary": 

"Jerusalem!  Jerusalem!  arise  thee  now  and  shine; 
Put  on,  put  on  thy  purple  robe  and  diadem  divine ; 
Though  darkness  cover  all  the  earth,  yet  thou  shalt  sing  for  glee; 
For,  lo !  the  glory  of  the  Lord  hath  risen  upon  thee. 


138  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

"Jerusalem!  Jeinisalem!  thy  streets  are  paved  with  gold; 
Thy  pearly  halls  and  palaces  are  glorious  to  behold ; 
Thy  walls  of  jasper  are  inlaid  with  every  precious  gem ; 
How  pure,  how  lovely,  is  the  sight  of  our  Jerusalem ! 

"Jerusalem!  Jerusalem!  no  tear  in  thee  is  known; 
Thy  bright  and  f I'agrant  courts  were  made  for  happiness  alone ; 
The  Lord  alone  thy  Temple  is,  and  calls  thee  by  his  name ; 
The  Lamb  alone  is  all  the  light  of  our  Jerusalem." 


JOHN  CAWOOD. 

1T75-1852. 

In  one  of  the  most  charming  portions  of  Derbyshire, 
England,  the  village  of  Matlock,  John  Cawood  first  saw  the 
light — March  18, 17Y5.  His  parents,  Thomas  and  Ann  Ca- 
wood, were  farmers  on  a  small  scale,  and  John  was  trained 
to  a  life  of  toil.  He  had  but  little  schooling,  and  was 
mainly  self-taught.  In  1Y93,  he  became  the  man-servant  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Carsham,  of  Sutton-in-Ashfield,  l^ottingham- 
shire.  Shortly  after,  he  entered  upon  a  religious  life,  and 
determined  to  prepare  for  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  Un- 
der the  tutelage  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Spencer,  of  Winkfield, 
Wiltshire,  he  pursued  a  classical  course,  and  entered,  No- 
vember, 1Y9Y,  St.  Edmund's  Hall,  Oxford,  where  he  was 
favored  with  the  instructions  of  Rev.  Isaac  Crouch,  Vice- 
Principal. 

At  his  graduation,  he  was  ordained,  December  21,  1800, 
deacon,  and,  May  31, 1801,  priest,  having  obtained  the  Curacy 
of  Ribbesford  and  Dowles.  In  1814,  he  was  presented  to 
the  Perpetual  Curacy  of  St.  Ann's  Chapel  of  Ease,  Bewd- 
ley,  Worcestershire.  Here  he  continued  until  his  decease, 
November  Y,  1852,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age.  He 
belonged  to  the  evangelical  school. 

He  seldom  appeared  in  print.  To  Number  48  of  the  Brit- 
ish Remew  (1825)  he  contributed  an  Article,  which  he  after- 
wards expanded  and  published  (1831)  in  pamphlet  form^ 


JOHN  CENNICK.  139 

with  the  title, — "  The  Church  of  England  and  Dissent,"  pur- 
porting to  be  an  Answer  to  Rev.  J.  A.  James'  "  Christian 
Fellowship."  It  was  well  thought  of  by  churchmen,  and 
commended  for  "its  perspicuity,  its  mild  spirit,  and  its 
ability."  His  "  Sermons  "  (1842)  are  characterized,  by  Bick- 
ersteth,  as  "  forcible,  imx^ressive,  and  evangelical. "  Thirteen 
hymns  are  ascribed  to  him,  written  at  various  times  "  for 
the  use  of  his  family  and  Sunday-Schools,"  which  found 
theu'  way  into  various  magazines.     His  Christmas  hymn, 

"  Hark!  what  mean  those  holy  voices,"  etc., 

is  a  universal  favorite.  His  interest  in  the  work  of  Foreign 
Missions  is  well  expressed  in  the  following  hymn,  on  the 
words  "  Come  over  and  help  us  ": 

" Hark!  what  mean  those  lamentations. 

Rolling  sadly  thi'ough  the  sky  ? 
'Tis  the  cry  of  heathen  nations, — 

'  Come  and  help  us,  or  we  die ! ' 
Lost  and  helpless  and  desponding, 

Wrapt  in  error's  night  they  He ; 
To  theu'  cries  your  heai'ts  responding, 

Haste  to  help  them  ere  they  die, 

"Hai'k!  again  those  lamentations 

Rolling  sadly  tlu^ough  the  sky ; 
Louder  cry  the  heathen  nations, — 

'  Come  and  help  us,  or  we  die ! ' 
Hear  the  heathen's  sad  complaining; 

Christians !  hear  their  dying  cry ; 
And,  the  love  of  Christ  constrainmg, 

Join  to  help  them  ere  they  die." 


JOHN  CENNICK. 

1718-1755. 

To  John-  Cennick  the  Christian  Church  is  indebted  for 
some  of  her  most  cherished  hymns.    He  was  one  of  the 


140  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

fruits,  and  in  turn  one  of  tlie  most  laborious  and  success- 
ful promoters,  of  the  "  Great  Revival  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century." 

He  was  born,  December  12,  1718,  at  Reading,  Berkshire. 
His  parents  were  of  the  Church  of  England,  but  his  paternal 
grandparents  were  disciples  of  George  Fox,  the  Quaker. 
They  "  were  once  very  great  clothiers,"  but  lost  their  all  by 
persecution.  He  was  strictly  brought  up,  and,  until  his 
thirteenth  year,  was  a  regular  attendant  at  St.  Lawrence 
Church,  Reading.  He  went  up  to  London,  not  less  than 
eight  times  in  two  years,  seeking  fi'uitlessly  an  apprentice- 
ship to  some  trade.  He  became  addicted,  in  consequence, 
to  sight-seeing,  song-singing,  play-going,  card-playing, 
horse-racing,  ball-frequenting,  and  the  like.  On  an  Easter 
visit  to  London,  in  1Y35,  he  was  seriously  imj)ressed,  as 
he  was  walking  hastily  in  Cheapside.  He  became  greatly 
distressed  on  account  of  his  sins,  broke  off  from  his  sinful 
course,  and  walked  softly  before  God ;  but  found  no  peace 
until  September  6, 1737,  when  he  was  enabled  to  trust  in 
Christ  alone,  and  find  "  joy  and  peace  in  believing." 

In  the  winter  of  1738-1739,  he  heard  of  Mr.  Kinchin,  of 
the  "Holy  Club"  at  Oxford,  and  set  out  afoot  to  make 
his  acquaintance.  He  thus  became  known  to  John  and 
Charles  Wesley,  and  shortly  after,  at  London,  to  George 
Whitefield,  by  all  of  whom  he  was  heartily  welcomed  and 
greatly  encouraged.  In  June,  1739,  he  took  charge  of  one 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  schools  for  colliers'  children,  at  Kingswood, 
near  Bristol,  and  immediately  began  to  preach  the  word,  as 
occasion  offered.  At  the  close  of  the  next  year,  he  sepa- 
rated from  the  Wesleys  on  account  of  their  doctrine  of 
"Free  Grace,"  and  with  twenty-four  adherents,  early  in 
1741,  organized  a  new  Society.  In  March,  Whitefield  re- 
turned from  America,  and  invited  Cennick  to  aid  him  at 
the  Tabernacle,  Moorfields,  London.  His  ministry  was  re- 
ceived with  favor,  and  he  labored  there  with  great  zeal  and 
success.  He  itinerated,  also,  in  North  Wiltshire,  in  Glouces- 
tershire, in  the  West  of  England,  and  elsewhere,  preaching 
daily,  and  at  times  six  sermons  a  day.    His  great  labors 


JOHN  CENNICK.  141 

were  attended  with  great  success,  and  followed  by  much 
persecution,  all  which  he  bore  with  great  meekness. 

Cennick  was  the  grandson  of  a  Bohemian  refugee,  and  so 
was  very  naturally  drawn  to  the  Moravian  brethi^en.  In 
1745,  he  separated  from  AVhitefield,  and  joined  "  The  Breth- 
ren," taking  with  him  a  large  number  of  his  former  friends. 
He  now  devoted  himself  to  the  spread  of  their  tenets,  and, 
after  a  short  visit  to  Germany,  passed  over  (1746)  to  Dublin, 
where,  and  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  he  labored  effectually. 
A  second  \dsit  to  Germany  followed,  and,  in  June,  1747,  he 
married  Miss  Jane  Bryant,  of  Clack,  Wiltshire,  and  re- 
turned to  the  North  of  Ireland,  where  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  with  the  exception  of  occasional  visits  to  London  and 
a  short  preaching  excursion  in  South  Wales,  was  spent. 
He  came  to  London,  June  28,  1755,  in  great  feebleness,  and 
died  there,  July  4,  1755,  in  his  thirty-seventh  year. 

He  "was  rather  below  the  middle  stature,"  says  Rev. 
Matthew  Wilks,  "of  a  fair  countenance,  but  of  a  fairer 
mind.  A  good  understanding,  an  open  temper,  and  tender 
heart  characterized  the  man."  He  was  distinguished  by 
"  unaffected  humility,  deadness  to  the  world,  a  life  of  com- 
munion with  God,  and  a  cheerful  reliance  on  a  crucified 
Saviour."  He  is  said  to  have  been  second  only  to  White- 
field,  as  to  "success  in  his  labors."  His  early  departure 
was  greatly  lamented. 

While  Cennick  was  at  Kingswood,  he  occupied  his  spare 
moments  in  wi'iting  hymns,  and,  early  in  1741,  he  published, 
at  London,  152  "  Sacred  Hymns  for  the  Children  of  God,  in 
the  Days  of  their  Pilgrimage.  By  J.  C";  with  a  Biographi- 
cal Preface  of  thirty  pages.  Charles  Wesley  says,  in  July, 
1739,  "I  corrected  Mr.  Cennick's  hymns  for  the  press." 
This  must  refer  to  only  a  portion  of  this  volume.  A  sec- 
ond edition  was  issued  the  same  year.  A  second  Series, 
with  the  same  title,  Part  I.  containing  86  liymns,  followed 
by  Part  II.  with  140  hymns,  was  published  in  1742.  The 
next  year,  at  Bristol,  he  brought  out  his  "  Sacred  Hymns 
for  the  Use  of  Religious  Societies,  Generally  composed  in 
Dialogues.    Part  I."    His  name  appears  in  full  on  the  Title 


142  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Page.  Part  II.  immediately  followed. ;  the  first  has  39 
hymns  ;  the  second,  66  of  his  own,  and  6  "  by  Mr.  Joseph 
Humphreys."  In  this  volume  appeared  Mr.  Humphreys' 
well-known  hymn,  beginning  with 

"Blessed  are  the  sons  of  God." 

Part  III.,  with  the  same  title,  except  the  clause  about  Dia- 
logues, was  published  at  London,  in  1744.  It  contains  149 
hymns.  At  Dublin,  in  1746,  he  published  "  A  Collection 
of  Sacred  Hymns"  (partly  original),  the  fifth  edition  of 
which  (1752)  contained  that  noble  and  inspiring  lyric,  be- 
ginning with 

"Lol  lie  Cometh,  countless  trumpets." 

He  published,  last  of  all,  in  1754,  a  volume  of  "  Hymns  to 
the  honor  of  Jesus  Christ,  Composed  for  such  Little  Chil- 
dren as  desire  to  be  saved  and  go  to  Heaven."  At  his  de- 
cease he  left  many  hymns  in  manuscript,  several  of  which 
were  included  in  the  Moravian  Hymn-Book  of  1789. 
Nearly  half  of  Mr.  Whitefield's  Collection  was  of  Cen- 
nick's  hymns. 

Two  volumes  of  "Discourses  on  Important  Subjects," 
several  of  them  with  hymns  attached,  from  his  pen,  were 
published  in  1753.  The  Preface  is  dated,  "  Dublin,  Decem- 
ber 12, 1753."  They  contain  forty  sermons,  and  have  often 
been  republished  as  "Village  Sermons."  They  are  plain, 
scriptural,  and  impressive.  In  1744,  he  published  "An 
Account  of  the  Conversion  of  Edward  Lee,  a  Malefactor 
executed  in  Wales  ";  also,  "  A  Letter  to  the  Little  Children, 
especially  to  Those  who  want  to  Know  how  to  Go  to 
Heaven";  and  a  "Treatise  on  the  Holy  Spirit."  In  1745, 
he  sent  forth  his  "  Life,"  written  by  himself,  and  "  An  Ac- 
count of  the  late  Riot  in  Exeter." 

In  the  preface  to  Part  I.  of  his  Second  Series  of  Hymn- 
Books  (1742),  he  says,  "  I  would  not  have  any,  who  read 
these  Hymns,  look  to  find  either  good  Poetry  or  fine  Lan- 
guage, for  indeed  there  is  none."  It  was  the  truth.  The 
few  hymns  from  his  pen  that  are  now  used,  have  been  con- 


JOHN  DAVID  CHAMBERS.  143 

siderably  modified  to  fit  thein  for  the  "semce  of  song"; 
and  are  known,  at  present,  almost  wholly  in  these  altered 
forms.  They  can  not  well  be  restored.  His  "Graces  before 
and  after  Meat "  have  had  a  wide  circulation,  and  are  still 
great  favorites  in  England : 

"grace  before  meat." 

"  Be  present  at  our  table,  Lord! 
Be  here  and  everywhere  adored  ; 
Thy  creatures  bless,  and  grant  that  we 
May  feast  in  Paradise  with  thee." 

"grace  after  meat." 

"  We  bless  thee,  Lord !  for  this  our  food, 
But  more  for  Jesu's  flesh  and  blood ; 
The  Manna  to  our  spmts  given. 
The  Living  Bread  sent  down  from  heaven  : 
Praise  shall  our  grateful  lips  employ, 
While  life  and  plenty  we  enjoy ; 
Till  worthy,  we  adore  thy  name, 
While  banqueting  with  Christ,  the  Lamb.' 


JOHN  DAYID  CHAMBERS. 

Mr.  Chambers  is  in  full  sympathy  with  the  Tractarian 
section  of  the  Church  of  England.  He  is  a  layman,  and  a 
lawyer.  He  pursued  his  education  at  Oriel  College,  Ox- 
ford, England,  and  graduated  in  1826.  His  first  publica- 
tions were  in  the  line  of  his  profession :  "  A  Complete  Dic- 
tionary of  the  Law  and  Practice  of  the  Election  of  a  Mem- 
ber of  Parliament "  (1837) ;  "  A  Practical  Treatise  on  the 
Jurisdiction  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery"  (1842) ;  and 
"A  Review  of  the  Gorham  Case"  (1850).  His  studies  now 
became  more  decidedly  ecclesiastical,  and  he  brought  out, 
in  1849  and  onwards,  "The  Psalter,  or  Seven  Ordinary 
Hours  of  Sarum";  "  Anp-lo  Saxonica"    "  A  Com-nanion  to 


144  '  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Holy  Communion,  for  Clergy  or  Laity  "  (3d  Ed.,  1853);  and 
"An  Order  of  Household  Devotion  for  a  Week." 

For  some  time  lie  had  been  preparing,  and  in  1857  pub- 
lished, an  extremely  beautiful  volume,  entitled,  "Lauda 
Syon :  Ancient  Latin  Hymns  of  the  English  and  other 
Churches ;  Translated  into  corresponding  Metres,  by 
John  David  Chambers,  M.A.,  Recorder  of  New  Sarum. 
London  :  J.  Masters."  Eight  of  these  translations  are  in 
Shipley's  "  Lyra  Messianica,"  and  five  in  his  "  Lyra  Eucha- 
ristica."  He  has  since  published  (1860)  "  The  Encheiridion, 
etc.,  according  to  Sarum  Use,  Translated  and  Arranged"; 
and  he  contributed  (1867)  an  Essay  to  the  second  Series  of 
Shipley's  "Church  and  the  World."  He  edited,  also,  an 
edition  of  Dr.  Herbert  Thorndyke's  "  Doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist."    The  hymn, 

"  Let  every  heart  exiilting  sing,"  etc., 

from  his  "  Lauda  Syon,"  is  a  translation  (slightly  altered) 
of  the  old  Breviary  hymn, 

"  Exiiltet  cor  praecordiis, "  etc. 

The  following  stanzas  are  from  his  translation  of  the  Bre- 
viary hymn, 

"Exite,  filiae  Syon!"  etc.: 

"  0  Syon's  daughters!  haste;  for,  lo! 

The  Prmce  of  your  salvation. 
Like  Solomon,  in  royal  show, 

Comes  forth  unto  his  nation : 
A  shining  purple  robe  he  wears, 
A  jeweled  crown  and  sceptre  bears. 

"  Let  us,  before  the  King  of  kings. 

Bow  down  and  homage  render ; 
With  him  despise  all  mortal  things, 

And  eai'thly  pomp  and  splendor : 
His  members  bear  his  pain  and  scorn, 
Whose  head  endured  the  twisted  thorn." 


JOHN  CHANDLER.  14^5 

JOHN  CHANDLER. 

180&-1876. 

JoKN"  Chandler  was  a  life-long  resident  of  Witley, 
Surrey,  England.  His  father,  Rev.  Jolin  F.  Chandler,  was 
the  Patron  and  incumbent  of  the  Vicarage,  and  there  the 
son  was  born,  June  16,  1806.  He  was  educated  at  Corpus 
Christi  College,  Oxford,  graduating,  B.  A.,  in  1827,  and  M.  A., 
in  1830.  He  was  ordained  a  deacon  in  1831,  and  priest  in 
1832.  In  1839,  he  succeeded  his  father  both  as  Patron 
and  as  Vicar  of  Witley,  and  was  afterwards  appointed 
Rural  Dean.     He  died,  July  1,  1876. 

In  1837,  he  published  his  "Hymns  of  the  Primitive 
Church."  The  originals  are  mainly  from  the  Breviaries — 
principally,  the  Paris  Breviary.  His  translations  are  among 
the  most  successful  in  the  English  tongue.  They  have 
generally  been  received  with  much  favor,  and  a  large 
number  of  them  have  been  included  in  subsequent  Collec- 
tions. In  1842,  he  published  the  "  Life  of  William  Wyke- 
ham";  and,  in  18.54,  "Horse  Sacrse :  Prayers  and  Medita- 
tions from  the  Writings  of  the  Divines  of  the  Anglican 
Church,  with  an  Introduction."  In  addition,  he  put  into 
print  several  tracts  and  sermons.  The  following  stanzas 
are  from  his  version  of  the  Breviary  hymn, 

"Nobis  Olympo  redditus,"  etc. : 

"  O  Clunst!  who  hast  prepared  a  j)lace, 
For  iLS,  around  thy  tkrone  of  grace, 
We  pray  thee,  lift  oiu'  hearts  above. 
And  draw  them  with  the  cords  of  love. 

"  Source  of  all  good!  thou,  gracious  Lord! 
Art  our  exceeding  great  reward ; 
How  transient  is  our  present  pain ! 
How  boundless  our  eternal  gain ! 

"  With  open  face  and  joyful  heart. 
We  then  shall  see  thee  as  thou  art : 
Our  love  shall  never  cease  to  glow. 
Our  praise  shall  never  cease  to  flow." 
lo 


146  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 


ELIZABETH  CODIS'ER. 

Mes.  Codnek  is  a  resident  of  Weston-super-Mare,  Somer' 
setsMre,  Eng,  She  "modestly  courts  obscurity."  Conse- 
quently but  little  is  known  of  lier  history.  She  has  pub- 
lished the  little  books,  called,  "  The  Missionary  Ship,"  and 
" The  Bible  in  the  Kitchen."    Her  hymn, 

"Lord!  I  hear  of  showers  of  blessing,"  etc., 

appeared  in  a  "  Dublin  Hymn-Book,"  and,  possibly,  was 
inspired  by  the  tidings  of  the  "  showers  of  blessing"  with 
which  Ireland  was  visited  in  1858.  The  following  stanzas 
are  the  last  three  of  a  companion  piece : 

"  Can  it  be  that  I,  an  alien, 
Now  a  child  shall  ever  be  ? 
Can  it  be  that,  all  forgiven. 
Glory  is  prepared  for  me — even  me  ? 

"Yes,  for  Jesus  liveth  ever, 

And  his  blood  hath  made  me  free : 
From  his  love  no  foe  can  sever. 
For  he  gave  himiself  for  me — even  me. 

"Lord !  I  thank  thee  for  salvation, 
Grace  so  mighty  and  so  free ; 
Take  my  all  in  consecration, 

Glorify  thyself  in  me — even  me." 


CHARLES  COFFIN. 

1676-1749. 

Mr.  Coffin  was  born  (1676)  at  Buzancy,  near  Mezieres,  in 
France.  He  was  educated  at  the  College  of  Plessis,  Paris, 
and  early  gave  evidence  of  eminent  abilities  and  great  at- 
tainments.    In  1701,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-five  years, 


HENRY  COLLINS.  147 

he  was  chosen  Yice-Principal  of  the  College  of  Beau- 
vais,  in  the  University  of  Paris,  and,  in  1Y12,  succeeded 
the  celebrated  Charles  Rollin  (the  Historian),  as  Principal 
of  the  College.  In  1718,  he  was  advanced,  as  Rector,  to  the 
highest  position  on  the  staff  of  the  University,  but  relin- 
quished it  three  years  later,  and  returned  to  the  Principal- 
ship  of  his  College. 

A  volume  of  Latin  poems,  full  of  grace  and  point,  from 
his  pen,  appeared  in  1Y27.  He  contributed,  also,  in  1736, 
a  considerable  number  of  Latin  hymns,  remarkable  for 
their  pure  Latinity  and  Scripturalness,  to  the  Paris  Bre- 
viary. He  sympathized,  in  doctrine,  with  the  Jansenist 
school.  His  decease  occurred  June  20,  1749,  at  Paris.  His 
Works,  with  a  glowing  eulogy  prefixed,  appeared  in  two 
volumes  (1755)  at  Paris. 


HENRY  COLLES'S. 

Rev.  Heney  Collins,  the  author  of  the  hymn  beginning 

"Jesus,  my  Lord,  my  God,  my  All! " 

was  educated  at  Oxford  University,  and  graduated,  M.  A.,  in 
1851:,  He  was  ordained  a  deacon  by  the  Bishop  of  Exeter ; 
and,  not  long  after,  a  priest,  at  Ripon,  Yorkshire.  In  1857, 
he  left  the  Church  of  England,  and  was  received  into  the 
Church  of  Rome.  To  justify  his  course,  he  published,  the 
same  year,  a  tract  with  the  title,—"  Difficulties  of  a  Convert 
from  the  Anglican  to  the  Catholic  Church." 

He  was  received  into  the  Cistercian  Order  in  1860,  and 
the  next  year  he  published  "The  Life  of  the  Rev. 
Father  Gentili,  Priest  of  the  Order  of  Charity."  Five 
years  later  (1866),  he  published  "  The  Spirit  and  Mission  of 
the  Cistercian  Order :  comprising  the  Life  of  S.  Robert  of 
Newminster,  and  the  Life  of  S.  Robert  of  Knaresborough, 
with  an  Accoun^  of  the  Foundation  of  Fountains  Abbey." 


148  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

He  wrote,  also,  tlie  hymn,  of  which  the  first  two  stanzas 
follow : 

"Jesus,  meek  and  lowly! 
Saviour,  piu'e  and  holy  I 
On  thy  love  relying. 
Hear  me  humble  crying. 

"Prince  of  life  and  power, 
My  salvation's  tower ! 
On  the  cross  I  view  thee. 
Calling  sinners  to  thee." 


WILLIAM  BENGO  COLLYER. 

1Y82-1854. 

Few  preachers  have  so  early  in  life  acquired,  and  for  so 
long  a  time  retained,  as  great  popularity  as  William  Bengo 
Collyer,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  F.A.S.  He  was  the  only  surviving 
child  of  Mr.  Thomas  Collyer,  and  was  born  at  Blackheath 
Hill,  Kent,  April  14,  1Y82.  At  eight  years  of  age,  he  was 
sent  to  the  public  school  at  Lewisham,  and,  in  his  thir- 
teenth year,  to  the  school  of  the  Rev,  John  Fell,  at  Homer- 
ton.  Even  tlien,  having  become  pious  at  a  very  tender  age, 
he  exhorted  occasionally  in  small  gatherings.  Such  were 
his  proficiency  and  promise,  that,  in  his  sixteenth  year,  he 
was  admitted  to  Homerton  College,  as  a  divinity  student. 
In  his  third  year  there  he  enjoyed  the  instructions  of  the 
distinguished  Dr.  John  Pye  Smith. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Peckham,  in  Surrey,  had 
long  been  in  a  declining  state,  under  Arian  ministrations. 
The  church  had  been  reduced  to  ten  members,  and  the  con- 
gregation to  forty  or  fifty  hearers.  Mr.  Collyer,  a  lad  of 
eighteen,  was  invited  to  supply  the  pulpit,  received  a  call, 
and,  at  the  expiration  of  his  theological  course  of  study, 
was  ordained,  December  17,  1801,  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
church, — the  congregation  having  been  increased  tenfold. 


WILLIAM  BENGO  COLLYEE.  149 

His  preacMng  attracted  crowds  of  people.  Tlie  gentry  and 
tlie  nobility,  as  well  as  "  tlie  common  people,  heard  him 
gladly."  The  royal  Dukes  of  Sussex  and  Kent  frequented 
his  humble  chapel,  and  sought  his  friendship. 

In  1807,  he  committed  to  the  press  a  course  of  "  Lectures 
on  Scripture  Facts,"  delivered,  three  years  before,  to  his  own 
people,  and,  the  two  ^\inters  follo^\ing,  to  delighted  crowds 
in  London.  They  were  republished  (1813)  in  Boston,  Mass. 
At  the  instance  of  the  Duke  of  Kent,  the  University  of  Ed- 
inburgh confen-ed  on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  in 
1808, — when  he  was  only  twenty-six  years  old. 

A  similar  series  of  Lectures,  delivered  first  from  the 
pulpit,  appeared,  "  On  Scripture  Prophecy "  (1809) ;  an- 
other, "  On  Scripture  Miracles  "  (1812) ;  another,  "  On  Scrip- 
ture Parables  "  (1815) ;  another,  "  On  Scripture  Doctrines  " 
(1818);  another,  "On  Scripture  Duties"  (1819);  and  yet 
another,  "  On  Scripture  Comparisons  "  (1823) ;— seven  vol- 
umes of  Scripture  truth,  full  of  the  marrow  of  the  Gospel. 
They  were  republished  (1823)  with  the  title,—"  Lectures  on 
the  Evidences  of  Divine  Revelation,  comprising  an  Exami- 
nation of  its  Facts,  Prophecies,  Miracles,  Parables,  Doc- 
trines, and  Duties;  with  a  Comparison  of  Christianity." 

He  had  accustomed  himself,  as  in  the  case  of  Watts, 
Doddridge,  and  others,  occasionally  to  write  hymns  to 
accompany  his  sermons.  At  length  he  undertook  the  com- 
pilation of  a  volume  of  hymns  for  general  circulation, 
gathered  from  a  large  accumulation  of  materials,  and 
edited  with  great  care  and  much  labor.  The  first  three 
thousand  copies  of  the  work  Avere  destroyed  by  a  confla- 
gration. The  book  was  finally  issued  in  August,  1812,  with 
the  title,—"  Hjnnns,  Partly  Collected,  and  Partly  Original, 
Designed  as  a  Supplement  to  Dr.  Watts'  Psalms  and 
HjTuns."  It  contained  979  hjonns  of  all  the  standard 
authors, — the  hymns  of  each  grouped  by  themselves,  and 
the  last  58  from  his  own  pen. 

The  next  year,  October  20,  1813,  he  married  Mary,  the 
daughter  and  co-heiress  of  Thomas  Hawkes,  Esq.,  of  Lut- 
tei'worth.     The  only  fruit  of  the  marriage  was  a  daup*hter, 


150  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

born  in  1814,  and  subsequently  the  wife  of  Dr.  L.  Philips. 
Mrs.  Colly er  died  December  23,  1827. 

The  Presbyterian  congregation  worshipping  in  the  com- 
modious building,  Cannon  Street,  London,  widely  known  as 
"  Salters'  Hall,"  had,  under  Arian  preaching,  been  reduced 
to  great  feebleness.  Dr.  Collyer,  who  had  long  been  re- 
garded as  the  most  popular  preacher  in  or  about  London, 
with  the  consent  of  his  Peckham  people,  became,  Jan- 
uary 2, 1814,  also  the  pastor  of  the  Salters'  Hall  people,  and 
preached  to  them  regularly  every  Sabbath  afternoon,  to 
crowded  audiences.  He  retained  this  charge  until  June  19, 
1825. 

He  was  an  inveterate  worker,  preaching  frequently  eight 
or  ten  times  a  week,  and  never  wearying  of  the  demands 
that  were  continually  made  upon  him,  from  all  quarters, 
for  counsel,  as  well  as  for  pulpit-service.  The  chapel  at 
Peckham  was  replaced  by  a  much  more  commodious  build- 
ing, which  was  dedicated,  June  IT,  1817,  and  named  Hanover 
Chapel,  in  honor  of  his  attached  friend,  the  Duke  of  Sussex, 
whom  in  person  he  resembled.  He  was  too  closely  occupied 
to  engage  much  in  authorship,  save  of  his  Occasional  Ser- 
mons, several  of  which  were  committed  to  the  press.  He 
prepared,  also,  and  published  (1837),  "  An  Abridgement  of 
the  Service  pf  the  Church  of  England,  to  which  is  added 
89  Original  Hymns";  and  (1848)  "Hymns  for  Israel."  In 
November,  1846,  he  was  associated  with  a  colleague  in  the 
pastorate,  and  was  thus,  during  his  last  years,  considerably 
relieved  from  responsibility  and  care.  He  died,  January  9, 
1854. 

His  popularity  as  a  preacher  scarcely  waned  to  the  last, 
except  as  growing  infirmities  compelled  him  to  a  less 
forcible  delivery.  It  was  altogether  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  Nonconformity.  For  at  least  thirty  years  he 
had  no  rival,  in  any  denomination,  in  the  Metropolis. 
"  Few  equaled  and  none  surpassed  him  in  gracefulness  and 
fascination  of  manner,  in  simple  and  persuasive  applica- 
tion of  truth  to  the  conscience,  or  in  the  marvellous  rapid- 
ity with  which  he  collected  and  arranged  his  thoughts." 


JOSIAH  CONDER  151 

Yet  lie  never  compromised  the  trath,  and  never  pandered 
to  the  prejudices  of  princes  or  of  the  populace. 
The  hymn,  beginning  with 

"When,  bending  o'er  the  brink  of  life," 

appeared  in  the  October  (1805)  Number  of  the  London 
Evangelical  Magazine;  and  in  the  May  Number,  1806,  was 
published  his  well-known  hymn, 

"Return,  O  wanderer!  return,"  etc. 

The  following  hymn  is  a  pleasing  specimen  of  his  style : 

"  Soft  be  tbe  gently  breathing  notes. 
That  sing  the  Saviour's  dying  love ; 
Soft  as  the  evening  zephyr  floats, 
Soft  as  the  tuneful  lyres  above. 

"  Soft  as  the  morning  dews  descend. 
While  the  sweet  lark  exulting  soars, 
So  soft  to  your  almighty  Friend, 
Be  every  sigh  your  bosom  pom*s. 

"  Pure  as  the  sun's  enlivening  ray, 
That  scatters  life  and  joy  abroad ; 
Pure  as  the  lucid  car  of  day 
That  wide  proclaims  its  Maker-God. 

**  True  as  the  magnet  to  the  pole, 
So  pui'e  let  your  contrition  be, — 
So  true  let  all  your  sorrows  roll, 
To  him  who  bled  upon  the  tree." 


JOSIAH  CONDER. 

1Y89-1855. 

JosiAH  CoNDER  was  the  son  of  a  publisher,  and  became 
himself  successively  a  publisher,  an  editor,  an  author,  and 
a  compiler.     He  was  a  thorough  Nonconformist,  a  staunch 


152  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

suppoi-ter  of  dissent,  and  a  man  of  mark  and  weight.  He 
was  tlie  grandson  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Conder  (1Y15-1Y81), 
the  first  theological  Professor  of  Homerton  College,  of 
which  Institution,  Thomas,  the  father  of  Josiah,  was  the 
Treasui-er.  The  home  of  Tliomas,  engraver  and  bookseller, 
was  in  Falcon  St.,  Aldersgate,  London,  where,  September 
lY,  1Y&9,  Josiah,  the  fourth  son  and  sixth  child,  was  born. 

At  the  age  of  five,  he  lost  his  right  eye,  by  small-pox, 
for  which  he  had  been  inoculated.  He  was  sent  to  Mr. 
Palmer,  of  Hackney,  to  be  treated  with  electricity,  and  re- 
mained with  him  as  a  scholar.  He  made  rapid  progress  in 
study  (French  and  Latin  included),  but  at  fifteen  he  was 
taken  into  his  father's  store.  His  association  with  books 
and  bookish  people  helped  forward  his  education.  His 
first  poetic  venture,  "  The  Withered  Oak,"  was  contributed 
to  the  AtliencBwn;  and,  in  1810,  he  united  with  the  Misses 
Anne  and  Jane  Taylor,  Miss  Eliza  Thomas  (subsequently, 
his  wife),  and  others,  in  publishing  a  volume  of  Poems,  en- 
titled, "The  Associate  Minstrels."  A  second  edition  was 
published  (1812),  in  which  appeared  his  "  Reverie,"  one  of 
his  best  poems.  The  same  year  he  contributed  three  hymns 
to  Dr.  CoUyer's  Collection,  one  of  them  a  version  of  the 
23d  Psalm. 

Two  years  later  (1814),  he  became  the  proprietor,  pub- 
lisher, and  editor,  of  the  Eclectic  Review,  founded  (1805)  by 
Adam  Clarke,  Robert  Hall,  John  Foster,  and  their  asso- 
ciates. He  was  thus  brought  into  correspondence  and  in- 
timate relations  with  some  of  the  most  powerful  writers  of 
the  age.  He  married  (1815)  Miss  Eliza  Thomas,  herself  a 
gifted  poet,  and  a  granddaughter  (maternally)  of  Rou- 
biliac,  the  sculptor.  He  issued  (1818)  two  volumes  "On 
Protestant  !D>ronconformity,"  and  an  additional  volume,  the 
next  year. 

Having  become  addicted  to  village-preaching,  he  pub- 
lished, in  1822,  "  The  Village  Lecturer :  Original  Discourses 
for  Village  Congregations."  In  1824,  he  published  "The 
Star  in  the  East ;  with  other  Poems."  A  part  of  the  first 
poem  had  been  published  in  1812.     The  book  included 


JOSIAH  CONDEE.  153 

"Religious,  Domestic,  and  Miscellaneous  Poems."  During 
the  next  seven  years  lie  was  laboriously  occupied  in  editing 
the  "  Modern  Traveller  "  (an  excellent  compilation  of  the 
works  of  recent  travellers),  in  33  volumes,  several  of  which 
were  written  by  himself  (1830-1831).  In  conjunction  with 
Mr.  J.  M.  Hare,  he  started  (1832)  Hie  Patriot,  a  London 
Weekly,  with  which  he  was  connected  thenceforth  as  long 
as  he  livedo 

He  published,  also,  "  The  Law  of  the  Sabbath  "  (1830) ; 
a  "  History  of  Italy,"  a  "  Dictionary  of  Ancient  and  Modern 
Geography,"  and  "  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews ;  a  new 
Translation"  (1834);  "The  Choir  and  the  Oratory;  or. 
Praise  and  Prayer"  (1837);  "Analytical  and  Comparative 
View  of  all  Religions"  (1838);  " Literary  History  of  the 
New  Testament "  (1845) ;  "  The  Harmony  of  History  with 
Prophecy  :  an  Exjoosition  of  the  Apocalypse  "  (1849) ;  and 
"  The  Poet  of  the  Sanctuary  "  (1850).  He  was  occupied  in 
correcting  the  last  proof-sheets  of  his  "  Hymns  of  Praise, 
Prayer,  and  Devout  Meditation,"  w^hen  (December  27,  1855) 
his  w^ork  was  interrupted  by  death,  which  overtook  him  at 
his  house  in  St.  John's  Wood,  London.  The  work  was  is- 
sued early  in  1856,  by  his  son,  the  Rev.  Eustace  R.  Conder. 

In  connection  with  a  supervising  committee  appointed 
by  the  Congregational  Union  of  England  and  Wales  (May, 
1833),  he  prei)ared  and  published  (1836),  "  The  Congrega- 
tional Hymn-Book :  A  Supplement  to  Dr.  Watts'  Psalms 
and  Hymns,"  containing  sixty- two  of  his  own  hymns. 
Great  liberty  was  taken  with  the  text,  resulting  very  prop- 
erly in  great  dissatisfaction.  A  new  Compilation  was  or- 
dered (1855)  before  he  died.  In  1851,  he  produced  a  revised 
edition  of  Dr.  Watts'  Psalms  and  Hymns,  in  which,  also, 
with  similar  license,  he  attempted  to  correct  and  improve 
"  The  Poet  of  the  Sanctuary." 

During  the  greater  part  of  his  business  life,  Mr.  Conder 
was  much  perplexed  by  pecuniary  embarrassments,  the 
effect  of  which  continually  appears  in  his  devotional  poetry. 
The  hymn, 

"  O  thou  God,  wlio  hearest  prayer,"  etc., 


154  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

was  written  (1820),  when  lie  was  suffering  from  a  fall  from 
a  horse.  The  following  stanzas  were  evidently  written 
under  the  pressure  of  worldly  straits  : 

"  When  anxious  thoughts  the  bosom  fill, 

And  skies  look  dark  above, 
How  sweet,  reposing  on  his  will, 

To  feel  that  God  is  Love ! 
To  him  our  mean  affairs 

Are  most  minutely  known ; 
He  weighs  the  burden  of  our  cares, 

And  numbers  every  groan. 

"When  fails  each  eai'thly  confidence, 

And  friends  grow  cool  and  strange, 
I  rest  on  thine  omnipotence. 

On  Love  that  can  not  change : 
This  trust  can  ne'er  delude ; 

Thy  goodness  is  most  wise ; 
And  in  thy  bounteous  plenitude 

My  wealth,  my  portLon  lies." 


RUSSELL  STURGIS  COOK. 

1811-1864. 

As  a  counterpart  of  Charlotte  Elliott's  very  popular  and 
useful  hymn, 

"Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea,"  etc., 

the  hymn, 

"  Just  as  thou  art — ^without  one  trace,"  etc., 

has  found  its  way  into  many  recent  Books  of  Praise.  It 
first  appeared  in  the  American  Messenger  (a  monthly 
paiDer,  issued  by  the  American  Tract  Society,  New  York), 
for  March,  1850.  Its  author,  the  Rev.  Russell  S.  Cook,  was, 
at  the  time,  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Society. 

He  was  born,  March  6,  1811,  at  New  Marlboro,  Mass., 
and  was  favored  with  good  advantages  of  education.    At  a 


RUSSELL  STURGIS  COOK.  155 

suitable  age,  he  began  the  study  of  law  at  Syracuse,  N.  Y., 
but,  having  become  deejoly  interested  in  religion,  he  aban- 
doned the  law  for  the  ministry.  In  1832,  he  entered  the 
Junior  Class  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Auburn,  IST.  Y. 
He  finished  his  course  of  study  in  1834,  married  a  daughter 
of  the  Rev.  Henry  Mills,  D.D.  (one  of  the  Seminary  Pro- 
fessors), and  was  ordained,  January  13,  183Y,  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  Church  of  Lanesborough,  Mass.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  a  year,  the  loss  of  voice  by  bronchial  disease 
compelled  him  to  resign  his  charge.  He  then  became  an 
Agent  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  New  York,  and  at 
the  Annual  Meeting  in  May,  1839,  he  was  chosen  one  of  its 
Corresponding  Secretaries.  Mainly  through  his  agency, 
the  Colportage  Department  of  the  Society  was  organized 
in  1841,  to  which  he  devoted  himself,  as  "  Secretary  of  Col- 
portage." 

In  the  advocacy  of  this  work,  he  started,  in  1843,  the 
American  Messenger^  a  monthly  pajDer,  of  which  he  be- 
came the  editor.  Much  of  his  time,  for  years,  was  given  to 
the  work  of  journeying  from  city  to  city,  and  in  attendance 
on  ecclesiastical  and  other  public  meetings,  all  over  the 
United  States.  He  made  free  use,  also,  of  the  religious 
press,  in  urging  the  claims  of  the  cause.  He  visited  Europe 
in  1853,  and  presented  it,  with  success,  to  the  British  pub- 
lic. A  second  time,  July,  1856,  he  was  compelled  to  go 
abroad,  in  broken  health,  and  made  extensive  inquiries  in 
relation  to  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  the  Old  World. 
At  Geneva,  he  married  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cassar 
Malan.  Tliree  wives  had  successively  been  taken  from  him 
by  death.  His  fourth  wife  survived  him.  He  resigned 
(May,  185T)  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Tract  Society,  and  on 
his  return  to  America,  in  the  autumn,  was  appointed  Secre- 
tary of  the  New  York  Sabbath  Committee,  and  for  nearly 
six  years  did  good  service  in  the  cause,  as  appears  from  the 
"  Occasional  Papers"  published  by  the  Committee.  In  the 
spring  of  1863,  he  labored  assiduously  in  the  organization 
of  the  "Christian  Commission,"  lost  his  health,  visited 
Florida  the  next  winter,  and  then  the  sea-coast  of  Maine. 


156  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

but  continued  to  fail.  He  resigned  liis  post  in  May,  1864 
and  retired  to  Pleasant  Valley,  New  York,  where  lie  died 
September  4,  1864. 


THOMAS  COTTERILL. 

1779-1823. 

Mr.  Cotterill  was  a  clergyman  of  tlie  Cliurcli  of  Eng- 
land,— of  excellent  reputation  and  of  precious  memory.  He 
was  the  second  son  of  a  wool-stapler,  residing  at  Cannock, 
Eng.,  where  he  was  born,  December  1,  1779.  He  pursued 
his  elementary  studies  at  the  grammar-school  in  Birming- 
ham, and  his  collegiate  course  at  St.  John's  College,  Cam- 
bridge University.  Here  his  most  intimate  companion  and 
dearest  friend  was  Henry  Martyn.  Their  friendship  began 
before  their  conversion.  Together  they  attended  the  minis- 
trations of  Charles  Simeon,  at  Trinity  Church,  and  about 
the  same  time  they  experienced  the  saving  grace  of  the 
Gospel. 

Mr.  Cotterill  graduated  in  1801,  and,  a  year  and  a  half 
afterwards,  was  ordained  to  the  curacy  of  Tutbury.  He 
devoted  himself  to  the  sjDiritual  interests  of  his  charge, 
particularly  the  children  of  the  operatives,  whom  he  taught 
to  sing.  In  July,  1805,  he  obtained  the  Perpetual  Cura,cy 
of  Lane  End,  a  populous  village  in  the  Staffordshire  Pot- 
teries. He  found  his  charge  quite  ignorant  and  careless, 
but  soon  began  to  see  the  most  cheering  results  of  his  un- 
wearying exertions  for  their  good.  He  married  in  18Q8, 
and  continued  his  godly  labors  at  Lane  End,  adding  thereto 
the  care  of  a  small  school,  until  1817,  when  he  obtained 
the  Perpetual  Curacy  of  St.  Paul's,  Sheffield. 

In  his  new  charge,  his  labors  were  no  less  assiduous,  and 
the  results  no  less  happy.  Several  hours  daily  were  devoted 
to  his  pupils,  and  all  the  remaining  hours  that  he  could 
command  were  given  to  his  parochial  duties.    After  a  min- 


THOMA.S  COTTEEILL.  157 

istry  of  six  years,  during  which  he  greatly  endeared  him- 
self, not  only  to  his  parishioners,  but  to  the  whole  town,  as 
a  laborious,  faithful,  and  affectionate  pastor,  and  as  an 
eloquent,  public-spirited,  and  self-sacriiicing  advocate  of 
the  truth  and  of  every  good  work,  he  yielded  to  the  ravages 
of  disease,  and  died  December  29,  1823,  in  great  peace  and 
full  assurance  of  hope.  He  left  a  wife  and  five  cliildren  to 
mourn  his  loss.  Such  was  the  grief  at  his  departure,  that 
the  whole  parish  put  on  mourning  apparel  on  the  occasion. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  purity  of  character,  sweetness  of 
temper,  and  unbounded  charity,  combined  with  strength 
of  understanding  and  soundness  of  principle.  He  was 
thoroughly  evangelical,  and  full  of  zeal  for  the  conversion 
of  sinners,  at  home  and  abroad. 

Soon  after  his  removal  to  Lane  End,  he  compiled  a  book 
of  lYO  hymns  for  the  use  of  his  parishioners.  Seven 
editions  were  issued  before  his  removal  to  Sheflaeld.  At 
the  latter  place  he  found  James  Montgomery,  an  old  resi- 
dent, and  eight  years  his  senior.  They  were  kindred 
spirits,  and  speedily  became  warmly  attached  to  each  other. 
Montgomery  assisted  him  in  the  preparation  of  a  new  and 
enlarged  edition  (1819)  of  his  Hymn-Book.  "  Good  Mr. 
Cotterill  and  I  bestowed  a  great  deal  of  labor  and  care," 
said  Montgomery,  "  on  the  compilation  of  that  book, — clip- 
ping, interlining,  and  remodeling  hymns  of  all  sorts,  as  we 
thought  we  could  correct  the  sentiment,  or  improve  the  ex- 
pression." And  yet  Montgomery  could  not  bear  to  have 
any  such  liberty  taken  with  his  o-svn  hymns !  Tlie  book 
contained  150  Psalms  and  367  Hymns. 

Great  opposition  was  made,  by  the  non-evangelical  por- 
tion of  the  congregation,  to  the  introduction  of  the  new 
book.  It  was  carried  to  the  Consistory  Court,  and  settled 
by  the  mediation  of  the  Archbishop.  Cotterill  and  Mont- 
gomery revised  it  under  the  supervision  of  his  Grace,  and 
the  opposition  subsided.  The  hymns,  in  the  new  edition, 
were  reduced  to  146,  and  the  book  was  adopted  by  the 
Sheffield  churches  and  others  in  the  neighborhood. 

The    edition  of   1819    contained  about  fifty  of  Mont 


158  THE  POETS  OP  THE  CHUECH. 

gomery's  Psalms  and  Hymns,  and  thirty-two  from  Cotter- 
ill's  pen.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  Montgomery's  well- 
known  hymn, 

"  Friend  after  friend  departs,"  etc., 

was  written  on  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Cotterill's  decease.  The 
following  stanzas  fairly  exhibit  Cotterill's  style : 

' '  Lord !  cause  thy  face  on  us  to  shine, 
Give  us  thy  peace,  and  seal  us  thine ; 
Teach  us  to  prize  the  means  of  grace, 
And  love  thine  earthly  dwelling-place ; 
May  we  in  truth  our  sins  confess. 
Worship  the  Lord  in  holiness. 
And  all  thy  power  and  glory  see 
Within  thy  hallowed  sanctuary. 

O  King  of  Salem,  Prince  of  peace ! 
Bid  sti'if e  among  thy  subjects  cease : 
One  is  our  faith,  and  one  our  Lord ; 
One  body,  spirit,  hope,  rewai'd. 
One  God  and  Father  of  us  all. 
On  whom  thy  church  and  people  call ; 
Oh !  may  we  one  communion  be. 
One  with  each  other  and  with  thee." 


WILLIAM   COWPER. 

1Y31-1800. 

For  many  precious  lyrics,  the  Christian  world  is  indebted 
to  William  Cowper,  the  author  of  "  The  Task,"  and  one 
of  the  most  gifted  of  the  British  poets.  His  father,  the 
Rev.  John  Cowper,  D.D.,  chaplain  to  George  II.,  was  the 
son  of  Spencer  CoAA^per,  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  and  the  nephew  of  William,  the  first  Earl 
Cowper  and  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  Great  Britain.  The 
poet's  father  had,  also,  a  second  brother,  Ashley,  and  an 
only  sister,  Judith.     Ashley  Cowper  had  three  daughters, 


WILLIAM  COWPER.  159 

one  of  whom,  Theodora  Jane,  but  for  her  father's  dissent, 
would  have  been  the  poet's  wife.  Another  daughter, 
Harriet,  married  Sir  Robert  Hesketh,  and  is  the  "  Lady 
Hesketh  "  of  the  poet's  correspondence.  His  father's  sister, 
Judith,  married  Col.  Martin  Madan,  and  was  the  mother  of 
the  Rev.  Martin  Madan,  of  London,  whose  collection  of 
Hymns  (1Y60)  was  quite  popular  among  the  Evangelicals  of 
that  period.  Her  daughter.  Miss  Madan,  an  endeared  cor- 
respondent of  the  poet,  married  her  cousin.  Major  William 
Cowper,  the  only  son  of  her  uncle  William. 

William  Cowper,  the  poet,  was  bom,  November  15,  1Y31, 
at  Great  Berkhampstead,  of  which  parish  his  father  was 
the  highly-respected  Rector.  His  mother  was  Anne,  daugh- 
ter of  Roger  Donne,  Esq.,  of  Ludham  Hall,  Norfolkshtre, 
and  was  a  descendant,  by  four  separate  lines,  of  Henry  III. 
This  fact  gives  force  to  those  memorable  lines  that  were  in- 
spired in  after  years  by  a  sight  of  his  excellent  mother's 
portrait : 

"My  boast  is  not  that  I  deduce  my  birth. 
From  loins  enthroned  and  rulers  of  the  earth ; 
But  higher  far  my  proud  pretensions  rise, — 
The  son  of  parents  passed  into  the  skies." 

She  was  born  in  1Y03,  and  died  in  1Y3T,  when  William  was 
only  six  years  old :  a  lovely.  Christian  woman, 

.  ..."  in  early  years  bereft  of  life, 
The  best  of  mothers,  and  the  kindest  wife; 
Who  neither  knew  nor  practiced  any  art. 
Secure  in  aU  she  wished— her  husband's  heart." 

At  his  mother's  death,  he  was  sent  to  Dr.  Pitman's  school, 
in  the  hamlet  of  Market  Street,  eight  or  ten  miles  northeast 
from  home.  Here  he  remained  two  years,  when,  on  account 
ot  an  alarming  affection  of  his  eyes,  he  was  placed  under 
the  care  of  an  eminent  female  oculist  in  London.  In  his 
tenth  year,  he  was  sent  to  Westminster  school, 

"When  Nichol  swung-  the  birch  and  twined  the  bays." 
During  his  pupilage  here  of  eight  years,  he  gained  that 


160  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

perfection  in  Greek,  that,  in  later  days,  made  him  so  skil 
f  ul  an  interpreter  of  Homer.  But  his  spiritual  training  was 
sadly  neglected  in  a  school,  where  he  was  taught 

"  much  mytliologic  stuff , 

But  sound  i*elig-ion  sparingly  enough  " : — 
"  No  nourishment  to  feed  his  growing  mind, 
But  conjugated  verbs,  and  nouns  declined." 

He  was  destined  for  the  law,  -with  ample  promise,  through 
family  connections,  of  brilliant  success.  Accordingly,  in 
1749,  he  was  articled  to  Mr.  Chapman,  a  solicitor,  and  be- 
came a  member  of  his  household.  Edward  Thurlow,  after- 
wards Lord  Chancellor,  was  his  associate  in  study  at  Lin- 
coln's Inn.  Much  of  his  spare  time  and  the  most  of  his 
Sundays  he  spent,  with  Thurlow,  at  his  uncle  Ashley  Cow- 
per's,  in  Southampton  Row,  in  the  society  of  his  fair  cousins. 

Three  years  later  he  took  chambers  in  the  Middle  Temple, 
and,  June  14,  1754,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  1756,  he 
was  deprived  of  his  father  by  death.  Appointed  Commis- 
sioner of  Bankrupts,  in  1759,  he  purchased  Chambers  in  the 
Inner  Temple.  Twelve  years  he  spent  among  the  Templars, 
whom  he  describes  as  "  citizen  courtiers," — "  beaux,  wits, 
poets,  critics,  and  every  character  in  the  gay  world."  He 
seems  to  have  led  all  this  while  an  idle  sort  of  life,  con- 
tributing now  and  then  a  brief  article  to  a  magazine,  occa- 
sionally composing  for  amusement  a  few  verses  in  the  form 
of  a  translation  or  as  an  ode  on  some  fanciful  subject,  but 
giving  no  great  attention  to  his  profession. 

The  reading  clerkship,  and  the  clerkship  of  the  Commit- 
tees, of  the  House  of  Lords,  became  vacant  in  1763.  They 
were  at  the  disposal  of  his  cousin,  Major  William  Cowper, 
and  were  offered  to  the  barrister.  He  accepted  them  at 
once ;  but,  on  reflection,  was  so  overpowered  by  extreme  and 
morbid  difiidence,  as  to  relinquish  the  two  ofiices  in  favor 
of  the  less  lucrative  clerkship  of  the  journals.  It  was  nec- 
essary for  him  to  pass  an  examination,  for  which  he  began 
prepai-ation,  but  even  this  overcame  him ;  his  reason  was 
overthrown,  and  several  suicidal  attemi)ts,  happily  frus- 
trated, compelled  his  removal,  December  7,  1763,  to  the 


WILLIAM  COWPER.  161 

Asylum  of  the  accomplislied  Dr.  Nathaniel  Cotton,  at  St. 
Alban's. 

Under  the  judicious  treatment  of  Dr.  Cotton,  he  emerged, 
at  the  end  of  eight  months,  fi'om  the  deep  gloom  of  despair 
and  horror,  into  the  light  and  liberty  of  the  Gospel.  His 
reason  was  restored,  and  he  began  a  new  life.  His  stay  at 
the  Asylum  was  prolonged  until  June,  1Y65,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Huntingdon,  to  be  near  his  brother  John,  then  in 
the  University  of  Cambridge.  Here  he  casually  formed  an 
acquaintance  with  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Morley  Unwin, 
teacher  of  a  classical  school.  They  were  greatly  attracted 
by  his  "most  intelligent  and  engaging  countenance,"  his 
"well-proportioned  figure,"  and  his  "elegant  manners." 
They  received  him  as  a  boarder,  and  made  him  one  of  their 
family.  To  this  period  is  to  be  referred  the  composition  of 
that  sweet  hymn, 

"  Far  from  the  world,  O  Lord !  I  flee,"  etc. 

Mr.  Unwin  died  suddenly,  in  July,  1Y67.  The  Rev.  John 
]S"ewton  was,  at  this  time.  Curate  of  Olney.  At  his  sugges- 
tion, on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  of  sympathy,  Mrs.  Unwin, 
with  her  son  and  daughter,  removed  to  Olney,  and  Cowper 
accompanied  them.  They  took  a  house,  the  garden  of 
which  was  separated  from  Mr.  Newton's  only  by  a  wall, 
through  which  a  gateway  gave  them  easy  communication. 
Here,  from  September,  176Y,  until  November,  1Y86,  Cowper 
found  a  delightful  home. 

His  only  brother,  John,  died  in  March,  lYYO,  and  the  af- 
fliction brought  on  a  return  of  Cowper's  malady.  He  lost 
his  wonted  cheerfulness,  and  relapsed  gradually  into  a  state 
of  despondency.  To  divert  his  mind  and  to  arrest  the 
progress  of  the  threatened  insanity,  Mr.  Newton,  with 
whom  Cowper  lived  on  terms  of  the  most  delightful  inti- 
macy, proposed  to  him  the  joint  preparation  of  a  book  of 
evangelical  hymns.  He  had  already  written  several,  be- 
sides the  one  just  named.  His  hymn,  beginning  with 
"Jesus!  where'er  thy  people  meet," 

had  been  written  the  year  before  (1T69),  to  be  sung  at  the 
11 


162  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

opening  of  a  new  place  for  public  prayer  at  Olney,  tlie 
large  room  of  "  The  Great  House."  Cowper  complied  with 
the  invitation,  and,  at  various  times  within  the  next  two 
years,  he  composed  (with  those  he  had  already  written) 
sixty-six  hymns,  distinguished  by  the  letter  "  C  "  prefixed, 
in  the  "  Olney  Hymns."    That  much  admired  production, 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way,"  etc., 

was  written,  at  the  close  of  1772,  "  in  the  twilight  of  depart- 
ing reason,"  just  after  an  abortive  attempt,  it  is  said,  at 
self-destruction.  He  now  sunk  into  an  apparently  hopeless 
state  of  gloom  and  wretched  despondency,  that  continued, 
without  a  ray  of  sunshine,  for  five  long  years.  Newton, 
having  waited  all  this  while  for  the  recovery  of  his  friend, 
put  the  hymn-book  to  press  in  1Y79,  as  the  "  Olney  Hymns," 
— a  name  by  which  it  has  become  widely  known  in  Great 
Britain  and  America.— [See  Newton.] 

His  malady  began  to  abate  in  1778,  and,  gradually  but 
slowly,  he  was  restored  to  reason,  hope,  and  peace.  New- 
ton, at  the  close  of  the  next  year,  removed  to  London,  not, 
however,  before  introducing  to  Co\\i)er  the  Rev.  William 
Bull,  a  dissenting  minister  of  the  adjacent  town  of  New- 
port-Pagnell,  and  a  man  of  congenial  spirit.  The  next  year^ 
Cowper  had  so  far  recovered  the  tone  of  his  mind,  as  to 
undertake  the  composition  of  several  poems  of  considerable 
length.  Within  the  next  two  years,  he  wTote  "  The  Progress 
of  Error,"  "  Truth,"  "  Expostulation,"  "  Hope,"  "  Charity," 
"  Conversation,"  and  "  Retirement,"— moral  satires,  that  still 
retain  their  popularity.  They  were  published,  at  London 
(1782),  by  Johnson,  Newton's  publisher.  At  the  suggestion 
of  his  greatly-endeared  friend,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bull,  he  trans- 
lated (October,  1782)  several  of  the  hymns  of  Madame 
Guyon.  The  translations  were  published  in  1801,  among 
them  the  two  hymns, 

"My  Lord!  how  full  of  sweet  content,"  etc., 
"  O  Lord!  in  sorrow  I  resign,"  etc. 

A  mile  from  Olney,  at  Clifton,  resided  the  Rev.  Mr. 


WILLIAM  COWPEE.  163 

Jones,  whose  wife's  sister  had  married  Sir  Robert  Austen, 
Bart.  Sir  Robert  had  died,  and  his  widow.  Lady  Austen, 
resided  with  her  sister,  Mrs.  Jones.  In  1781,  she  became  a 
visitor  at  the  humble  abode  of  Mrs.  Unwin.  The  next  year, 
she  took  a  house  at  Olney,  and  became  an  almost  constant 
visitant  at  Mrs.  Unwin's,  adding  greatly,  by  her  vivacity 
and  fascination  of  manner,  to  the  comfort  and  happiness  of 
the  invalid  poet.  "  John  Gilpin  "  was  inspired  by  one  of 
her  playful  stories  ;  and,  at  her  suggestion,  "  The  Task  "  was 
undertaken  in  1Y83,  furnishing  the  poet  with  pleasant  em- 
ployment for  a  year  or  two.  Its  publication  in  ITS 5  was  a 
complete  success,  and  gave  him,  at  once,  an  undisputed 
place  among  the  first  and  best  poets  of  the  age.  It  was 
followed  the  next  year  by  his  "  Tirocinium :  or  a  Review 
of  Schools." 

It  was  also  at  the  suggestion  of  Lady  Austen,  that,  in 
1784,  he  began  his  translations  of  Homer,  affording  him 
ibundant  occupation,  the  remainder  of  his  rational  life. 
Mrs.  Unwin  removed,  November,  1786,  to  a  much  more 
comfortable  abode,  at  Weston  Underwood,  a  mile  from 
Olney,  where  the  poet  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  beau- 
tiful scenery,  and  congenial  society.  But  the  cloud  came 
over  him  again,  in  January  following,  and  rested  on  him  for 
six  months.  At  the  close  'of  the  year  he  resumed  his  work. 
In  1790,  he  translated  from  the  Latin,  for  Mr.  JSTewton,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Lier's  Letters,  published  with  the  title,  "  Tlie 
Power  of  Grace  Dlustrated."  Homer  was  completed  and 
published  (1791)  under  flattering  auspices, — the  edition  pay- 
ing him  one  thousand  pounds.  Not  entirely  satisfied  with 
the  performance,  he  commenced  (1792)  a  revision  of  the  en- 
tire work,  on  which  he  was  occupied,  much  of  the  time, 
until  his  decease.     It  was  published  in  1802. 

The  few  remaining  years  of  Cowper  were  sad  enough. 
Deeper  and  deeper  fell  the  shadows,  with  intervals — grow- 
ing shorter  and  fewer — of  glimmering  light.  He  undertook 
to  prepare  an  edition  of  Milton  for  the  press,  but  did  not 
complete  the  work.  In  1792,  he  made  a  journey  to  Eartham, 
in  Sussex,  the  residence  of  his  friend,  William  Hayley.    On 


164  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

his  return,  tlie  malady  increased,  so  that,  in  January,  1794, 
it  took  complete  possession  of  his  faculties.  A  literary  pen- 
sion of  £300  was  granted  him  (May,  1794),  by  the  crown. 

At  the  urgent  solicitation  of  his  maternal  cousin,  the 
Rev.  John  Johnson,  he  removed,  with  ^Irs.  Unwin,  August, 
1795,  to  Norf olkshire,  where,  at  Kortli  Tuddenham,  Mundes- 
ley,  and  East  Dereham,  he  was  entertained  by  his  mother's 
relatives.  At  Dunham  Lodge,  Swaffliam,  he  remained  about 
a  year,  when,  in  October,  1796,  he  removed  to  Mr.  Johnson's 
iiome  at  Dereham.  Mrs.  Unwin  died,  December  17th,  fol- 
lowing. Cowper  so  far  recovered  as  to  occupy  much  time, 
the  next  two  years,  with  the  revision  of  Homer,  and  the 
translation  of  Gay's  Fables.  In  March,  1799,  he  wrote  "  The 
Castaway," — ^his  last  poetic  composition.  The  next  autumn 
and  winter  he  failed  rapidly.  Dropsy  ensued,  and,  April 
25, 1800,  he  quietly  passed  away.  His  remains  were  laid  to 
rest.  May  2d,  in  St.  Edmund's  Chapel,  St.  Nicholas  Church, 
East  Dereham.  A  marble  slab  now  covers  the  spot,  on 
which  is  carved  the  following  inscription,  written  by  his 
friend  Hayley : 

"In  Memory  of  William  Cowper,  Esq.:  Born  in  Hertfordshire, 
1731.     Buried  in  this  Church,  1800  : 

"Ye,  who  with  warmth  the  pubhc  triumph  feel, 
Df  talents  dignified  by  sacred  zeal, 
Here,  to  Devotion's  bard,  devoutly  just. 
Pay  your  fond  tribute,  due  to  Cowper's  dust  1 
England,  exulting  in  his  spotless  fame. 
Ranks  with  her  dearest  sons  his  favorite  name. 
Sense,  fancy,  wit,  suffice  not  all  to  raise 
So  clear  a  title  to  affection's  praise  : 
His  highest  honors  to  the  heart  belong  ; 
His  virtues  formed  the  magic  of  his  song." 

So  lived  and  wrote,  suffered  and  died,  one  of  the  loveliest 
and  most  accomplished  Christian  gentlemen  of  his  age ; 
"  the  most  popular  poet  of  his  generation,"  as  Southey,  his 
biographer,  declares,  "  and  the  best  of  English  letter- wTit- 
ers."  "The  popularity  of  Cowper,"  says  Dibdin,  "gains 
strength  as  it  gains  age ;  and,  after  all,  he  is  the  poet  of  our 


FRANCES  ELIZABETH  COX.  16i5 

study,  our  cabinet,  and  our  alcove."    Precious  is  Ms  mem- 
ory to  every  lover  of  sacred  song. 


FRANCES  ELIZABETH  COX. 

Miss  Cox,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  G.  V.  Cox,  M.  A.,  was  born 
in  Oxford,  England.  She  appeared,  as  the  author  of  "  Sacred 
Hymns  from  the  German.  Translated  by  Frances  Elizabeth 
Cox.  London,  1841."— "Second  Edition,  Revised  and  En- 
larged, 1864."— "This  small  selection,"  says  the  translator, 
"was,  perhaps,  the  first  attempt  to  make  known  to  English 
readers"  the  beautiful  hymns  of  Germany.  The  most  of 
them  "were  pointed  out  to  the  translator,  as  'national 
treasures,'  by  the  late  Baron  Bunsen,  on  whose  authority 
the  names  and  dates  of  the  authors  are  given."  Several  of 
these  translations  have  become  very  popular.  The  selection 
is  mostly  from  a  comparatively  modem  school. 

"We  have  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  it,"  says  the 
Christian  Remembrancer,  "to  be  one  of  the  most  successful 
attempts  at  translation  which  it  has  been  our  good  fortune 
to  meet  with,  whether  we  regard  the  faithfulness  of  the 
translator  to  the  sentiment  and  metre  of  the  original  hymns, 
or  the  spirit  and  life  which  she  has  contrived  to  transfuse 
from  them  into  her  own  translation."  It  is  safe  to  say, 
that  her  translation  of  the  "Hymn  for  Summer,"— " Keine 
Schonheit  hat  die  Welt,"  by  Johann  Scheffler  ["  Axgelus  "], 
— beginning  with 

"Earth  has  nothing  sweet  or  fair," 

is  to  be  classed  among  the  sweetest  of  sacred  lyrics. 

The  following  are  the  first  two  stanzas  of  her  translation, 
in  a  very  peculiar  metre,  of  a  hymn  by  Burchard  Wiesen- 
mayer  (1680),  containing  eight  such  stanzas  : 

' '  How  lovely  now  the  morning  star, 

In  twilight  sky,  bright  gleams  afar, 

While  nierht  her  curtain  raiseth  ! 


166  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Ea^h  creatvire  hails,  with  ravished  sight, 
The  glories  of  returning  light, 

And  God,  its  Maker,  praiseth  : 
Both  far,  And  near. 

All  things  living  Thanks  are  giving, 
There  high  soaring, 
Here  through  earth's  wide  field  adoring. 

"Then  haste,  my  soul  !  thy  notes  to  raise, 
Nor  spare,  in  thy  Redeemer's  praise. 

To  pour  thy  due  oblation  ; 
For  glory.  Lord  !  to  thee  belongs, 
Thy  praise  resounds,  in  grateful  songs, 

With  pious  emulation  : 
Joy  rings  Glad  strings  ; 

Voices  sounding.  Hearts  rebounding  ; 
Thus  all  nature 
Hymns  thy  fame,  0  great  Creator  I " 


AKTHUE  CLEVELAND  COXE. 
1818 . 

The  poetry  of  the  Et.  Eev.  Arthur  Cleveland  Coxe,  D  D., 
LL.D.,  gives  evidence  of  a  superior  intellect  and  careful 
culture.  For  each  he  is  greatly  indebted  to  a  parentage  of 
peculiar  eminence.  His  father,  the  Eev.  Samuel  Hanson 
Cox,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  for  more  than  half  a  century  graced 
the  ministry  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America.  A  brilliant  preacher  and  a  most  suc- 
cessful pastor,  he  labored  diligently  in  his  vocation,  as  a 
pastor  at  Mendham,  N.  J.,  at  New  York  City,  and  at  Brook- 
lyn, as  a  Professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  Auburn, 
N.  Y.,  and  as  Chancellor  of  Leroy  University,  N.  Y.  His 
mother,  Abia  Hyde  Cleveland  (whose  patronymic  he  bears), 
vvas  the  daughter  of  the  Eev.  Aaron  Cleveland  (1744-1815), 
of  Norwich  and  Hartford,  Conn.,  who  was  the  son  of  the 
Eev.  Aaron  Cleveland  (1719-1757).  Her  father  was  the 
author  of  a  poem  on  Slavery  (1775),  and  of  a  poetic  bur- 
lesque, called  "Family  Blood." 


AETHUR  CLEVELAND  COXE.         167 

Arthur  was  born,  May  10, 1818,  at  Mendliam,  N.  J.,  where 
Ms  father  had  just  been  installed  pastor.  In  his  third 
year,  he  became  a  resident  of  the  City  of  New  York,  his 
father  having  accepted  a  call  to  the  Spring  Street  Presby- 
terian Church  of  that  city.  At  ten  years  of  age,  he  was 
sent  to  a  gymnasium,  at  Pittsfield,  Mass.  He  entered  the 
University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  at  the  age  of  sixteen. 
While  yet  a  Freshman,  his  poetic  propensities  found  ex- 
pression in  a  poem,  entitled,  "  The  Progress  of  Ambition," 
delivered  before  one  of  the  literary  societies  of  the  Univer- 
sity. He  contributed,  also,  "  The  Blues,"  and  "  The  Hebrew 
Muse,"  to  the  American  Montlily  Magazine.  In  his  Junior 
year  (1837),  he  published  "  Advent,  a  Mystery :  a  Dramatic 
Poem,"  with  the  following  filial  Dedication  : 

"Father  !  as  lie,  of  old  who  reaped  the  field, 
The  first  young  sheaves  to  Hira  did  dedicate 

Whose  bounty  gave  whate'er  the  glebe  did  yield, 
Whose  smile  the  pleasant  harvest  might  create, — 
So  I  to  thee  these  numbers  consecrate, — 

Thou,  who  didst  lead  to  Silo's  pearly  spring  ; 
And  if,  of  hours  well  saved  from  revels  late 

And  youthful  riot,  I  these  fruits  do  brmg, 

Accept  my  early  vow,  nor  frown  on  what  I  sing." 

He  graduated  in  1838,  and,  the  same  year,  issued  "  Ath- 
wold  :  a  Romaunt,"  and  two  cantos  of  "  Saint  Jonathan,  the 
Lay  of  a  Scald,"  the  beginning  of  a  semi-humorous  poem, 
after  the  manner  of  Byron's  "  Don  Juan."  In  the  Univer- 
sity he  was  noted  for  his  proficiency  in  the  classics,  and 
particularly,  the  Greek  Poets.  He  studied  Gemian  and 
Hebrew,  two  years,  under  the  tuition  of  Prof.  ISTordheimer. 
Having  connected  himself  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  he 
entered  the  General  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  New  York  City.  He  now  contributed 
several  fugitive  pieces  to  the  New  York  Churchman  (1839), 
that  were  extensively  copied  at  home  and  abroad.  In  the 
following  year  they  were  published  in  a  volume  entitled 
"  Christian  Ballads,"  and  received  with  great  favor.  In  his 
"  Hymn  of  Boyhood,"  the  first  in  the  book,  he  thus  speaks 
of  his  devoted  mother : 


168  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

"The  first  dear  thing  that  ever  I  loved 

Was  a  mother's  gentle  eye, 
That  smiled,  as  I  woke  on  the  di'eamy  couch, 

That  cradled  my  infancy  : 
I  never  forget  the  joyous  thrill 

That  smile  in  my  sph'it  stm-ed. 
Nor  how  it  could  charm  me  against  my  will, 

Till  I  laughed  like  a  joyous  bu'd." 

An  enlarged  edition  was  issued  in  1847. 

At  the  commencement  of  Washington  [now  Trinity]  Col- 
lege, Hartford,  Conn.,  1840,  he  delivered  a  Poem  before 
the  Alumni,  entitled  " Athanasion,"  which,  with  "Other 
Poems,"  was  published  in  1842.  Prof.  Henry  Reed  calls  it 
"a  genuine  burst  of  poetry."  He  was  ordained,  June  28, 
1841,  a  deacon,  by  Bishop  B.  T.  Onderdonk,  of  New  York. 
In  August,  1841,  he  became  the  Rector  of  St.  x^nne's 
Church,  Morrisania,  N.  Y.,  and,  September  21st,  married 
his  third  cousin,  Catharine  Cleveland,  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
Simeon  Hyde,  of  New  York.  His  "Halloween"  was  pri- 
vately printed  in  1842,  and  published  with  "  Other  Poems," 
in  1844. 

In  1842,  he  became  the  Rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  Hart- 
ford, Conn.  Three  years  later,  he  brought  out  his  "  Saul ;  a 
Mystery."  A  visit  to  the  Old  World,  in  1851,  gave  occasion 
for  numerous  letters  to  the  New  York  Church  Journal, 
which  were  afterwards  (1855)  published  in  a  volume,  en- 
titled, "Impressions  of  England."  He  became  (1854)  the 
Rector  of  Grace  Church,  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  published 
(1855)  a  volume  of  "Sermons  on  Doctrine  and  Duty."  At 
the  breaking  out  of  the  "  War  of  the  Rebellion,"  he  main- 
tained, amidst  great  opposition,  the  cause  of  his  country ; 
and,  when  the  Rectorship  of  Calvary  Church,  New  York, 
was  made  vacant  by  the  resignation  and  removal  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Hawks  to  Baltimore,  Dr.  Coxe  was  called  thence  to  take 
his  place.  Chosen,  in  1864,  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of 
Western  New  York,  he  was  duly  consecrated,  January  4, 
1865,  at  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  and  has  since  resided  at  Buffalo, 
N.  Y. 

Dr.  Coxe  has  frequently  contributed  to  the  Quarterly 


AKTHUR  CLEVELAND  COXE.         169 

Reviews,  and  other  Periodicals.  To  the  American  Biblical 
Repository,  New  York  (1839),  he  contributed,  "Modern 
English  Poetry"  and  "Cowper's  Poetry  and  Letters";  to 
the  iVezo  York  Remew,  "Devotional  Poetry";  to  the  Church 
Review,  "Schools  in  American  Literature"  and  "Writings 
of  Hawthorne";  besides  several  Articles  to  Blackwood/ s 
Magazine.  He  translated  from  the  French,  and  published 
with  a  Supplement  and  N"otes  (1855),  the  Abbe  Laborde's 
"Impossibility  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  as  an  Ar- 
ticle of  Faith."  Also,  a  Translation  of  Dr.  Yon  Hirscher's 
"Sympathies  of  the  Continent,  or  Proposals  for  a  New 
Reformation."  He  is  the  author,  also,  of  several  Occasional 
Sermons,  Episcopal  Charges,  and  Addresses. 

His  "  Watchwords :  a  Hymn  for  the  Times,"  from  which 
the  following  stanzas  are  taken,  can  scarcely  be  surpassed 
as  a  Battle  Cry  for  the  Soldiers  of  the  Cross : 

"We  are  living— we  are  dwelling — 
Tn  a  grand  and  awful  time  : 
Tn  an  age,  on  ages  telling, 
To  be  living  is  sublime. 

"Hark  !  the  waking  up  of  nations, 
Gog  and  Magog,  to  the  fray  : 
Hark  !  what  soundeth  is  Creation's 
Groaning  for  the  latter  day. 

' '  Will  ye  play,  then  ?    Will  ye  dally, 
With  your  music,  with  your  wine  ? 
Up  !  it  is  Jehovah's  rally  ! 
*  God's  own  arm  hath  need  of  thine. 

"Worlds  are  charging — heaven  beholding  : 
Thou  hast  but  an  horn'  to  fight ; 
Now,  the  blazoned  Cross  unfolding, 
On  ! — right  onward,  for  the  right ! 

"  Oh  !  let  all  the  soul  within  you 
For  the  truth's  sake  go  abroad  1 
Strike  !  let  every  nerve  and  sinew 
TeU  on  ages— tell  for  God." 


170  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

GEORGE  CRABBE. 

1754-1832. 

George  Crabbe,  LL.B.,  "the  Poet  of  the  Poor,"  was 
born,  Christmas-eve,  1754,  in  the  humble  sea-faring  village 
of  Aldborough,  Suffolk,  on  the  shore  of  the  German  Ocean. 
An  uninviting,  forbidding  stretch  of  sandy  soil,  with  two 
parallel  unpaved  streets  of  squalid  dwellings,  washed  by 
the  ocean-storms,  with  no  compensating  background, — such 
was  the  place  where  he  was  trained.  In  his  poem,  "  The 
Villao:e,"  he  alludes  to  it  as  follows  : 


4,^V 


' '  Lo  !  where  the  heath,  with  withering  brake  grown  o'er, 
Lends  the  hght  turf  that  warms  the  neighboring  poor  ; 
From  thence  a  length  of  burning  sand  appears, 
Where  the  thin  harvest  waves  its  withered  ears  ; 
Rank  weeds,  that  every  art  and  care  defy, 
Reign  o'er  the  land,  and  rob  the  blighted  rye." 

The  associates  of  his  boyhood  were  hardly  more  attract- 
ive: 

"  Here  joyless  roam  a  wild  amphibious  race, 
With  sullen  woe  displayed  in  every  face ; 
WTio  far  from  civil  arts  and  social  fly. 
And  scowl  at  strangers  with  suspicious  eye  : " 

"A  bold,  artful,  surly,  savage  race," 

ever  intent  on  plunder;  who  prey  on  "the  finny  tribe," 
and  then 

"Wait  on  the  shore,  and,  as  the  waves  run  high, 
On  the  tossed  vessel  bend  then*  eager  eye. 
Which  to  then"  coast  directs  its  venturous  way, 
Theirs,  or  the  ocean's,  miserable  prey." 

Yet  the  boy,  so  unhappy  in  his  surroundings,  gave  early 
promise  of  a  better  style  of  life.  His  father  was  the  salt- 
master  of  the  village,  fond  of  books  and  figures.  Among 
his  books  was  Martinis  PliilosopMcal  Magazine,  with  its 
"Poets'  Corner."    George  took  to  it  suprisingly.    An  edu 


GEORGE  CRABBE.  171 

cation  was  accorded  liiin.  He  was  sent,  first  to  a  school  at 
Bungay,  on  tlie  IS'orfolk  line,  and  then,  in  his  twelfth  year, 
for  a  short  period,  to  another  school  at  Stow-market.  Some 
months  were  next  spent  in  the  drudgery  of  his  father's  busi- 
ness at  home. 

In  his  fourteenth  year,  he  was  apprenticed  to  an  apoth 
ecary  at  Wickham  Brook,  near  Bury  St.  Edmunds ;  and, 
three  years  afterwards,  to  Mr.  Page,  a  surgeon  at  Wood- 
bridge.  Here  he  found  his  future  wife,  Sarah  Elmy.  He 
had  begun  to  amuse  himself,  during  his  apprenticeship, 
with  versification.  His  first  poem,  "  Inebriety,"  was  pub- 
lished (1775)  at  Ipswich.  After  a  short,  but  ineffectual, 
visit  of  eight  or  ten  months  to  London,  he  obtained  employ- 
ment ^dth  a  Mr.  MaskeU,  at  home ;  and,  on  his  removal 
shortly  after,  set  up  the  surgical  business  for  himself.  Five 
years  of  ineffectual  struggle  resulted  in  a  determination  to 
abandon  his  profession,  and,  on  a  £5  loan,  to  seek  his  for- 
tune as  a  literary  adventurer  in  London. 

"  The  Candidate  "  was  published  in  1780,  but  his  publisher 
failed  and  he  lost  all.  A  year  was  passed  in  penury  and 
distress.  Applications  to  men  of  note  proved  fruitless.  He 
made  bold  to  lay  his  case  before  Edmund  Burke,  the  cel- 
ebrated statesman,  who  generously  invited  him  to  his  house, 
applauded  his  verse,  and  furnished  the  means  for  its  pub- 
lication. "The  Library"  was  issued  in  1781,  and  was  well 
received.  At  Burke's  house,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  literary  magnates  of  the  period,  and  received  their 
encouragement  and  patronage.  Thurlow,  the  Lord  High 
Chancellor,  gave  him  £100,  and  so  relieved  him  from  hia 
straits. 

He  now  determined  to  enter  the  Church.  After  a  brief 
course  of  study,  he  was  ordained,  December  21,  1781,  a  dea- 
con, by  the  Bishop  of  Normch,  and  obtained  the  Curacy  of 
Aldborough,  his  native  village.  The  next  year,  he  received, 
at  the  instance  of  Burke,  the  appointment  of  Domestic 
Chaplain  to  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  was  ordained  (August, 
1782)  priest,  and  became  an  inmate  of  Belvoir  Castle.  "  The 
Village"  was  published,  May,  1783.     Two  small  livings  in 


172  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Dorsetshire  were  now  given  him,  by  Thurlow,  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  followed  by  the  degree  of  LL.B.  Remarried 
in  1785 ;  and,  the  next  four  years,  served  as  curate  of 
Stethern,  adjacent  to  Belvoir  Castle.  "  The  Newspaper " 
appeared  in  1785.  He  was  presented,  February,  1789,  to 
the  living  of  Muston,  in  Leicestershire.  In  November, 
1792,  he  removed  to  Parham,  Suffolk — the  home  of  Mrs. 
Crabbe.  Four  years  later  (October,  1796),  he  became  the 
Curate  of  Great  Glenham.  At  length  (October,  1805)  he 
returned  to  his  directory  at  Muston,  and,  in  September, 
1807,  he  published  "Tlie  Parish  Register,  and  other  Po- 
ems."   His  beautiful  hymn, 

"Pilgrim  !  burdened  with  thy  sin,"  etc, 

appeared  in  "Sir  Eustace  Grey."  Artistically  it  is  one  of 
the  most  perfect  in  the  whole  range  of  hymnology.  Tliat 
one  so  capable  should  have  written  no  others  of  the  same 
sort  is  much  to  be  regretted. 

"The  Borough"  followed,  in  1810,  and  his  "Tales  in 
Verse,"  in  1812.  Mrs.  Crabbe,  in  1813,  was  removed  by 
death.  In  June  of  the  next  year,  he  was  presented  to  the 
living  of  Trowbridge,  Wiltshire,  whither  he  presently  re- 
moved, and  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  the  day  of 
his  decease.  His  "  Tales  of  the  Hall,"  the  last  of  his  pub- 
lications, appeared  in  1819,  for  which  and  the  copyi'ight  of 
all  his  previous  poems,  Murray,  the  publisher,  gave  him 
£3,000.  He  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  passed  away, 
February  3, 1832,  in  his  seventy- eighth  year.  The  follow- 
ing, from  the  pen  of  John  Duncan,  Esq.,  of  New  CoUege, 
Oxford,  gives  expression  to  the  popular  judgment : 

"Farewell,  dear  Crabbe  !  thou  meekest  of  mankind, 
With  heart  all  fervor,  and  all  strength  of  mind  ; 
With  tenderest  sympathy  for  others'  woes, 
Fearless  all  guile  and  maUce  to  expose  ; 
Steadfast  of  purpose  in  pursuit  of  right, 
To  drag  foi'th  dark  hypocrisy  to  light, 
To  brand  th'  oppressor,  and  to  shame  the  proud, 
To  shield  the  righteous  from  the  slanderous  crowd  ; 
To  error  lenient,  and  to  frailty  nuld, 


JANE  [FOX]  CREWDSON.  173 

Repentance  ever  was  thy  welcome  ckCd  : 
In  every  state — as  husband,  parent,  friend, 
Scholar  or  bard — thou  couldst  the  Christian  blend. 
Hogarth  of  Song  !  be  this  thy  perfect  praise  : — 
Truth  prompted,  and  Truth  purified  thy  lays  ; 
The  God  of  Truth  has  given  thy  verse  and  thee 
Truth's  holy  palm — His  Immortality." 


JANE  [FOX]  CREWDSON. 
1809-1863. 

Mrs.  Crewdsott  was  the  daughter  of  George  Fox,  Esq., 
of  Perran,  Cornwall.  In  this  "  seaboard  parish  "  she  was 
bom,  October,  1809,  and,  at  an  early  age,  gave  promise 
of  high  intellectual  development.  Her  studies  were  pur- 
sued with  ardor,  and  she  became  a  proficient,  not  only  in 
the  modem  languages,  but  also  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
Classics. 

In  her  twenty-seventh  year  she  became  the  wife  of 
Thomas  D.  Crewdson,  Esq.,  of  Manchester.  Always  deli- 
cate in  physical  structure,  Mrs.  Crewdson,  at  length,  be- 
came a  confirmed  invalid,  and,  for  many  years,  was  con- 
fined to  the  chamber  of  sickness.  During  her  protracted 
illness,  her  Christian  graces  were  beautifully  developed. 
Mr.  Crewdson  says :  "  As  a  constant  sufferer,  the  spiritual 
life  deepening,  and  the  intellectual  life  retaining  aU  its 
power,  she  became  well  prepared  to  testify  as  to  the  all- 
sufficiency  of  her  Saviour's  love.  Many  felt  that  her  sick- 
room was  the  highest  place  to  which  they  could  resort 
for  refreshment  of  spiiit,  and  even  for  mental  recreation. 
From  that  apartment  came  many  a  letter  of  earnest  sym- 
pathy, or  of  charming  playfulness." 

Between  the  paroxysms  of  pain,  she  occupied  herself,  at  in- 
tervals, with  exercises  in  verse,  and  thus  relieved  the  tedium 
of  her  confinement.    Four  volumes  of  delightful  poetry  were 


174  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

the  result  of  these  quiet  hours :  "  The  Singer  of  Eisenach  "; 
"  Aunt  Jane's  Yerses  for  Childi^en  ";  "  Lays  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  other  Lyrics  "  (1860) ;  and  "  A  Little  While,  and 
other  Poems."  The  last  was  a  posthumous  publication 
(1864).  She  fell  asleep,  September  14,  1863,  at  her  home, 
Summerlands,  near  Manchester, 

That  beautiful  hymn,  the  fruit  of  a  pure  poetic  taste 
sanctified  by  bodily  suffering, 

"I've  found  a  joy  in  sorrow,"  etc., 

is  found  in  her  "  Lays  of  the  Refonnation." 
Tlie  following  is  one  of  her  sweetest  hymns : 

"  There's  not  a  grief,  however  light, 
Too  light  for  sympathy ; 
There's  not  a  care,  however  shght, 
Too  slight  to  bring  to  Thee. 

"  Thou,  who  hast  trod  the  thorny  road, 
Wilt  share  each  small  distress ; 
For  he,  who  bore  the  greater  load, 
Will  not  refuse  the  less. 

"  There's  not  a  secret  sigh  we  breathe 
But  meets  the  ear  divine ; 
And  every  cross  grows  hght  beneath 
The  shadow,  Lord !  of  thine. 

"  Life's  woes  without,  sin's  strife  within. 
The  heart  would  overflow, 
But  for  that  love  which  died  for  sin, 
That  love  which  wept  with  woe." 


WILLIAM  CROSWELL. 

1804-1851. 

Rev.  William  Croswell,  D.D.,  was  a  native  of  Hud- 
son, N.  Y.,  and  was  born,  November  7,  1804, — the  third 
child  of  Harry  Croswell  and  Susan  Sherman.     His  father 


WILLIAM  CEOSWELL.  175 

was  then  editor  of  TTie  Balance,  and  not  long  afterwards 
(1809)  removed  to  Albany,  N.  Y. ;  though  of  Puritan  stock,  he 
attached  himself  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  entered  the  min- 
istry in  1814,  and  (January  1,  1815)  became  the  Rector  of 
Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  Conn.,— of  which  place  Mrs. 
Croswell  was  a  native. 

The  son  entered  Yale  College  in  1818,  and,  having  ac- 
quired some  distinction  as  a  scholar  and  poet,  graduated 
in  1822.  After  four  years  of  somewhat  desultory  life,  tow- 
ards the  close  of  which  his  religious  character  was  more 
fully  developed,  he  entered  the  General  Theological  Semi- 
nary in  New  York.  The  next  spring,  however,  he  accepted 
an  invitation  to  be  associated  with  Prof.  George  W.  Doane 
[afterwards  Bishop]  as  editor  of  the  Episcopal  Watchman, 
then  (March  26,  1827)  just  started  at  Hartford,  Conn., 
and  accordingly  removed  thither.  Having  continued  the 
prosecution  of  his  theological  studies,  he  was  ordained  by 
Bishop  Brownell,  January  25,  1829,  a  deacon,  and,  two 
months  later,  retired  from  the  editorial  chair.  Many  of 
his  sonnets,  hymns,  and  fugitive  poems,  appeared,  during 
these  two  years,  in  the  columns  of  the  Watchman.  It  was 
for  a  public  meeting  of  the  "  Howard  Benevolent  Society  " 
of  Boston,  January  2, 1831,  that  he  wrote  the  useful  lyric, 
beginning  with 

"  Lord!  lead  the  way  the  Saviour  went." 

Having  accepted  (May,  1829)  an  invitation  to  the  rector- 
ship of  Christ  Church,  Boston,  Mass.,  he  was  ordained, 
June  24,  1829,  to  the  priesthood.  Here  he  continued  in 
the  laborious  discharge  of  his  parochial  duties,  until  April, 
1840,  when  he  accepted  a  call  to  St.  Peter's  Church,  Auburn, 
N.  Y.,  and  was  married  in  May  to  Miss  Amanda,  daughter 
of  Mr.  Silas  P.  Tarbell.  His  friends  and  admirers  at  Bos- 
ton, having  organized  the  Church  of  the  Advent  expressly 
for  him,  prevailed  on  him,  at  the  expiration  of  about  four 
and  a  half  years,  to  return  to  Boston  (September,  1844)  and 
take  the  pastorate  of  the  new  church.  In  sympathy  with 
his  former  associate  and  endeared  friend,  Bishop  Doane, 


176  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

he  favored  the  Oxford  movement,  as  a  Tractarian,  in  oppo- 
sition to  his  diocesan,  Bishop  Eastbnrn.  He  was  a  most 
thorough  "  Churchman,"  all  his  ministerial  life.  He  died 
quite  suddenly,  November  9, 1851. 

His  Memoirs,  published  by  his  venerable  father,  in  1853, 
contain  34  sonnets,  72  poems,  and  38  psalms,  hymns,  and 
prayers— not  a  few  of  them  of  exquisite  finish  and  sweet- 
ness, but  many  of  them  pervaded  by  the  ritualistic  spirit 
so  characteristic  of  Keble's  "Christian  Year,"  of  which 
wonderfully  popular  book  he  was  a  great  admirer.  The 
following  hymn  (1834),  on  the  "Noon  Day"  at  Jacob's 
Well,  is  a  fair  specimen  of  his  ordinary  style : 

"  O  Thou!  who,  in  the  languid  noon, 

By  Sychar's  well,  didst  open  wide 
To  wondering  eyes  a  better  boon 

Than  e'er  their  fathers'  fount  supplied; 
Up,  where  thy  brightest  glories  burn. 

Our  fainting  souls,  at  every  stage, 
For  thy  celestial  succor  turn. 

In  this,  our  weary  pilgrimage. 

"  When,  from  the  sun's  meridian  glow, 

We  seek  refreshment  and  repose. 
Do  thou  thy  heavenly  gifts  bestow. 

And  all  the  stores  of  life  unclose ; 
Thence,  quench  the  fervid  spirit's  thirst, 

Thence,  fill  us  as  with  angel's  food, 
Till,  day  by  day,  our  souls  are  nursed 

For  their  divine  beatitude." 


JOHANN  CRUGER. 

1598-1662. 


JoHANN  Cruger  was  bom  in  1598,  and,  by  his  skill  in 
music,  obtained,  in  1622,  the  position  of  precentor,  organist, 
and  chapel-master  of  St.  Nicholas  Church,  Berlin,  and  held 
it  until  his  death  in  1662.     He  is  the  author  of  that  pecul- 


JOHN  WILLIAM  CUNNINGHAM.  177 

iarly  toucMng  eiicliaristic  hymn,  wMcli,  translated  by  Rev. 
Charles  Wesley,  (the  23d  of  his  "  Hymns  on  the  Lord's 
Supper,"  1745),  begins, 

"  Hearts  of  stone !  relent,  relent." 

The  original  German  hymn  is  found  in  a  Lutheran  Collec- 
tion, "  Praxis  Pietatis  "  (1640),  of  which  thirty  editions  had 
been  published  in  1701,  and  many  more  at  a  later  date. 
Previous  to  1651,  he  had  published  "  Synopsis  Musica,"  and 
several  other  musical  works.  He  wrote  quite  a  number  of 
beautiful  tunes,  of  which  "  Harwich "  is  quite  well  known 
in  America.  The  melody  that  he  composed  for  Rinkart's 
popular  German  hymn, 

"Nun  danket  alls  Gott,"  etc., 

is  said  to  be  the  best  known  tune  in  the  world.  At  mid- 
night on  New- Year's  eve,  as  the  clock  strikes  twelve,  it  is 
customary  for  every  orthodox  German  household,  at  least 
in  the  fatherland,  to  sing  the  hymn  to  Criiger's  tune.  It 
has,  also,  attained  gi^eat  popularity  in  England. 


JOHN  WILLIAM  CUNNINGHAM. 

1780-1861. 

The  Rev.  Johist  W.  CuiSTNiNaHAM,  long  and  popularly 
known  as  "  The  Vicar  of  Harrow,"  was  bom  in  1780,  and 
educated  at  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  England,  where 
he  graduated,  A.B.,  in  1802,  and  A.M.,  in  1805.  In  the  lat- 
ter year,  he  married  Miss  Sophia  WiUiams,  daughter  of  R. 
Williams,  Esq.,  of  Moor  Park.  He  had  previously  held  a 
Fellowship  in  St.  John's  College. 

He  published  anonymously  (1805)  "A  World  without 
Souls."  It  is  a  fanciful  sketch,  designed  to  rouse  attention 
to  the  care  of  the  soul.  It  contains  two  sonnets  and  two 
epitaphs,  very  creditable  specimens  of  the  author's  poetic 


178  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

talent.  The  book  was  favorably  received,  and  bas  been  fre- 
quently reprinted.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Claudius  Buchanan,  the 
same  year,  had  offered  two  generous  prizes  (£500  each), 
to  be  paid  by  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
to  the  writers  of  the  two  best  Essays  on  "  Christianity  in 
India."  Tlie  Oxford  prize  was  awarded  (1807)  to  the  Rev. 
Hugh  Pearson,  afterwards  Dr.  Buchanan's  biographer.  The 
Cambridge  prize  was  withheld,  because  the  only  Essay  that 
was  sent  in,  at  all  worthy  of  it,  was  not  received  until  sev- 
eral days  after  the  expiration  of  the  time.  It  proved  to  be 
by  Mr.  Cunningham,  and  the  greater  part  of  it  was  after- 
wards (1808)  published  at  the  expense  of  Dr.  Buchanan, 
with  the  title :  "  Christianity  in  India.  An  Essay  on  the 
Duty,  Means,  and  Consequences  of  introducing  the  Chris- 
tian Religion  among  the  Native  Inhabitants  of  the  British 
Dominions  in  the  East," — a  measure  violently  opposed  at 
that  day.  The  Essay  displays  originality,  research,  vigor 
of  thought,  and  true  Christian  zeal. 

In  1811,  he  was  instituted  Yicar  of  Harrow-on-the-HiU, 
the  living  being  in  the  gift  of  Lord  Northwick.  It  is  a 
most  commanding  position.  Seven  counties  are  to  be  seen 
from  it — a  vast  panorama  of  most  lovely  scenery,  unequal  ed 
in  an  England.  Charles  II.,  on  one  occasion,  is  reported  to 
have  said  of  the  visible  church, — "  I  know  not  where  it  is  to 
be  found,  except  indeed  at  Harrow."  From  this  conspicu- 
ous height,  Mr.  Cunningham  sent  forth,  in  1812,  in  a  pam- 
phlet of  sixty- seven  pages,  some  forcible  and  effective 
"  Observations,  designed  as  a  Reply  to  the  '  Thoughts '  of 
Dr.  Maltby,  on  the  Dangers  of  Circulating  the  Whole  of 
the  Scriptures  among  the  Lower  Orders." 

Tlius  early,  in  his  public  life,  Mr.  Cunningham  had  es- 
poused the  Evangelical  Cause,  and  given  the  weight  of  his 
talents  and  influence  to  the  "  Church  Missionary  Society," 
the  "  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,"  and  Idndred  in- 
stitutions. He  published  (1814)  an  Address  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  on  the  subject  of  "  Church  of  Eng- 
land Missions,"  recommending  and  enforcing  a  plan  for 
developing  the  missionary  energies  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 


JOHN  WILLIAM  CUNNINGHAM.  179 

land.  This  was  followed,  the  same  year^  by  "  The  Velvet 
Cushion,"  sent  forth,  like  his  first  work,  anonjTnously,  and 
written  in  the  same  fanciful  style.  It  was  really  a  history 
of  the  Pulpit,  and  a  critique  on  the  Clergy.  It  has  fre- 
quently been  republished,  and  its  statements  have  been 
much  controverted.  This  was  followed  (1816)  by  his  "  San- 
cho,  or  the  Proverbialist,"  also  published  anonjTuously. 

Mrs.  Cunningham,  in  the  midst  of  her  days  and  useful- 
ness, was  quite  suddenly  taken  away  by  an  acute  disorder, 
January  9, 1821,  leaving  nine  children  under  fourteen  years 
of  age.  Several  years  afterwards  he  entered  again  into  the 
marriage  relation.  He  received  the  appointment  of  Do- 
mestic Chaplain  to  his  Patron,  Lord  Northwick,  and,  in 
1822,  gave  to  the  press  a  volume  of  "  Sermons  "  on  "  Miscel- 
laneous Subjects."  His  "Morning  Thoughts  in  Prose  and 
Verse,  on  single  Verses  in  the  successive  Chai)ters  in  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,"  appeared  in  1824.  A  second  vol- 
ume of  "  Seimons  "  on  "  Practical  Subjects  "  was  published 
in  1825.  Besides  several  occasional  Discourses,  Mr.  Cun- 
ningham published  "De  Kance,  a  Poem,"  and  "Lectures 
on  Jonah." 

Closely  connected  with  his  parish,  was  the  famous  "  Free 
School  of  Harrow";  and  during  his  long  ministry  of  half  a 
century  he  preached  the  Gospel  to  some  thousands  of  boys 
and  young  men  connected  with  this  school,  over  whom  he 
exercised  the  happiest  influence.  In  a  visit  to  Harrow,  in 
1842,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  of  NeAv  York,  was 
welcomed  at  the  Vicarage,  which  he  speaks  of  as  "  a  spot 
of  exceeding  beauty  "  without ;  and  further  says,  "  the  un- 
rivaled manners  of  the  Vicar  of  Harrow,  and  of  his  equally 
admirable  lady,  rendered  the  interior  of  the  dwelling  far 
more  so."  "His  appearance,"  he  adds,  "unites  as  com- 
pletely and  beautifully  the  finished  deportment  of  the 
highest  requirement  in  society,  and  the  meekness  and  gen- 
tleness of  the  true  child  of  God,  as  any  person  whom  I  have 
ever  seen."  "He  is  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  his 
age  and  church." 

The  late  Mrs.  Frances  TroUope  was,  during  a  large  por- 


180  THE   POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

tion  of  her  married  life,  a  resident  of  Harrow.  Conceiving 
a  dislike  for  tlie  godly  Vicar,  she  wrote  and  published 
(1837)  "  The  Vicar  of  Wrexhill,"  designed  as  a  satire  on  the 
"Vicar  of  Harrow  Hill."  It  failed  of  its  effect,  however, 
and  served  only  to  deepen  and  develop  the  more  the  ardent 
affection  of  the  parish  for  their  highly  honored  pastor. 
Having  reached  his  eighty-first  year,  he  gently  passed 
away,  September  30,  1861,  and  entered  into  rest. 

The    following    Hymn    is    taken    from   his  "Morning 
Thoughts"  (1825): 

"When  my  sad  heart  surveys  the  pain 
Which  weary  pilgrims  here  sustain, 

As  o'er  the  waste  of  hf  e  they  roam ; 
Oppressed  without,  betrayed  within, 
Victims  of  violence  and  sin, 

Shall  I  not  cry, — '  Thy  kingdom  come  ?' 

"  And,  when  I  know  whose  strong  control 
Can  calm  and  cheer  each  troubled  soul, 

And  lead  these  weary  wanderers  home, 
Can  lodge  them  in  a  Father's  breast, 
And  soothe  this  weary  world  to  rest. 

Shall  I  not  cry, — '  Tliy  kingdom  come  ? ' 

"  Oh !  rise,  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord ! 
Come  to  thy  realms,  immortal  Word ! 

Melt  and  subdue  these  hearts  of  stone ; 
Erect  the  tln-one  which  cannot  move ; 
Stretch  forth  the  sceptre  of  thy  love. 
And  make  this  rebel  heart  thiae  own." 


SAMUEL  DAVIES. 

1723-1761. 

President  Davies  was  the  son  of  David  Davies,  a  Welsh 
immigTant,  who  cultivated  a  farm  at  Summit  Eidge,  New- 
castle County,  Delaware.     Here  the  son  was  born,  Novem- 


SAMUEL  DAVIES.  181 

ber  3, 1723.  His  godly  mother  was  Ms  teacher  until  lie  was 
ten  years  old,  when  he  came  under  the  instruction,  for  two 
years,  of  the  Rev.  Abel  Morgan,  a  Welsh  Baptist.  He  be- 
came a  subject  of  divine  grace  at  the  age  of  twelve  years, 
and  at  fifteen  a  member  of  the  church. 

The  classical  school  at  Fagg's  Manor,  Pa.,  was  opened  by 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Blaii',  in  1740,  and  Davies  shortly  after  be- 
came one  of  its  students.  He  was  duly  licensed,  July  30, 
1746,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Newcastle,  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel. His  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Kirkpatrick  occurred  Oc- 
tober 23, 1746.  He  was  ordained,  Febraary  19, 1747,  as  an 
evangelist.  Manly  and  graceful  in  person,  voice,  and  man- 
ner, of  a  sweet  and  tender  disposition,  he  became  speedily 
an  attractive  and  popular  preacher.  He  labored  awhile  on 
the  eastern  shore  of  Maiyland,  and  then  for  a  few  months 
as  a  missionary  in  Hanover  County,  Ya.  His  ^vif  e  died  very 
suddenly  (after  his  return),  September  16, 1747,  and  his  own 
health  was  greatly  impaired. 

In  the  spring  of  1748,  he  returned  to  Hanover,  Ya.,  and 
was  installed  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  that 
place,  in  May,  1748.  He  married,  October  4, 1748,  Miss  Jean, 
the  daughter  of  John  Holt,  of  Hanover.  Notwithstanding 
the  opposition  of  the  colonial  government  to  all  "  dissent- 
ers," his  ministry  was  eminently  successful. 

In  company  with  the  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent,  of  New  Jer- 
sey, by  appointment  of  the  Synod  of  New  York,  at  the 
close  of  1753,  he  visited  Great  Britain,  to  procure  funds  for 
the  College  of  New  Jersey.  His  preaching  was  received 
with  remarkable  favor,  and  his  mission  was  a  success.  He 
contracted  a  wann  personal  friendship  for  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Thomas  Gibbons,  of  London,  and  made  many  other  valuable 
friends.  At  the  close  of  1754,  he  left  England,  returned 
home,  and  resumed  his  pastoral  work.  His  preaching  now 
became  more  popular  than  ever,  and,  by  reason  of  its  great 
success  in  the  planting  of  new  churches,  the  Presbytery  of 
Hanover  was  organized  in  1755. 

Having  labored  thus  diligently  for  the  space  of  four  years 
and  more,  and  having  been  twice  chosen  to  succeed  the  late 


182  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

President  Edwards,  he  was  duly  inducted,  July  26, 1759,. 
into  the  Presidency  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  A  suc- 
cessful career  apparently  awaited  him,  but,  after  a  short 
illness  resulting  from  a  violent  cold,  he  died,  February  4, 
1761,  greatly  lamented  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

He  was  regarded  "  as  the  most  eloquent  American  divine 
of  the  past  age."  The  Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Livingston,  of  the 
Reformed  Dutch  Church,  of  New  York  City,  said,  "  that  he 
was  without  exception  the  hrst  pulpit  orator  to  whom  he 
had  ever  listened.  His  voice,  his  attitudes,  his  gesture, 
everything  pertaining  to  manner,  came  uj)  to  the  most  per- 
fect ideal  that  he  was  able  to  form." 

Several  of  his  Occasional  Sermons  and  Discourses  were 
published,  at  intervals,  during  his  life.  The  most  of  these, 
with  many  others,  were  prepared  for  j)ublication,  after  his 
death,  by  his  greatly  attached  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gibbons, 
of  London,  and  issued  (1767-1771)  in  five  volumes.  An 
American  edition  in  three  volumes  was  published  (3d  ed., 
1811)  at  Boston,  Mass.  Among  the  manuscripts  of  President 
Davies,  committed  to  Dr.  Gibbons  for  publication,  were 
copies  of  sixteen  original  hymns.  These  were  included  in 
a  Collection  of  "Hymns  adapted  to  Divine  Worship,"  pub- 
lished by  Dr.  Gibbons,  at  London,  in  1769.  Among  them 
are  the  familiar  hymns : 

"Eternal  Spirit,  Soiirce  of  light! "  etc., 
"Lord  !  I  am  thine,  entirely  thine,"  etc. 

The  following  stanzas  are  from  a  hymn  by  Davies,  on  the 
"Excellency  of  Christ": 

"My  Prophet  thou,  my  heavenly  Guide  ! 

Thy  sweet  instructions  I  wOl  hear  ; 
The  words,  that  from  thy  lips  proceed, 

Oh  !  how  divinely  sweet  they  are  ! 
Thee,  my  great  Prophet,  I  would  love. 
And  imitate  the  blessed  above. 

"My  great  High-Priest !  whose  precious  blood 
Did  once  atone  upon  the  Cross, 
Who  now  dost  intei'cede  with  God, 


ELIEL  DAVIS.  18c 

And  plead  the  friendless  sinner's  cause, 
In  thee  I  trust ;  thee  I  would  love, 
And  imitate  the  blessed  above. 

"My  King  supreme  !  to  thee  I  bow, 

A  willing  subject,  at  thy  feet ; 
All  other  lords  I  disavow. 

And  to  thy  government  submit : 
My  Saviour-Kling  this  heart  would  love, 
And  imitate  the  blessed  above." 


ELIEL  DAVIS. 

1803-1849. 

Mr.  Eliel  Davis  was  born,  June  5, 1803,  at  Folkestone. 
England.  His  father  was  the  teacher  of  a  respectable  school, 
and  a  deacon  of  the  Baptist  Church.  The  celebrated  Tem- 
perance lecturer,  John  B.  Gough,  who  was  born  at  Sandgate, 
a  hamlet  two  miles  west  of  Folkestone,  says,  in  his  auto- 
biography :  "  My  father  paid  a  weekly  sum  for  my  instruc- 
tion at  the  seminary  of  Mr.  Davis,  of  Folkestone."  This  was 
in  182.5  ;  and,  about  this  time,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Bel- 
cher, the  author  of  "Historical  Sketches  of  Hymns,"  etc., 
became  the  pastor  of  the  Folkestone  Baptist  Church. 

Young  Davis,  in  1821,  obtained  a  situation  as  clerk  in  a 
dry-goods  store,  at  Wandsworth,  London.  In  January,  1822, 
he  became  a  member  of  the  Eagle  Street  Baptist  Church, 
under  the  care  of  Rev.  Joseph  Ivirney.  Full  of  pious 
zeal,  he  soon  after  began  to  exhort  and  conduct  religious 
meetings  in  the  suburban  villages ;  and,  in  1826,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  Baptist  College,  at  Stepney,  London,  as  a 
student  for  the  ministry.  About  this  time,  Dr.  Belcher 
undertook  the  preparation  of  a  monthly  magazine  in  man- 
uscript, for  the  young  people  of  his  congregation,  who  were 
the  chief  contributors.  It  was  called  the  Mutual  Instructor. 
Young  Davis  often  wrote  for  it,  and,  in  1826,  contributed 
to  it  the  well-known  hymn, 

"  From  every  earthly  pleasure,"  etc., 


184  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

wMcb.  lias  been  improperly  ascribed,  in  some  Compilations, 
to  Mr.  Joseph  Cottle.  Dr.  Belcher  showed  it  to  a  London 
editor  (then  on  a  visit  to  him),  who  copied  it  and  jDnblished 
it  in  his  own  magazine,  whence  it  was  transferred  to  the 
hymn-books.  It  was  introduced  to  the  American  churches, 
by  the  Rev.  Joshua  Leavitt,  in  his  "  Christian  Lyre,"  New 
York,  1830. 

In  1828  Mr.  Davis  took  charge  of  a  Baptist  church 
at  Newport,  Isle  of  Wight.  At  the  end  of  six  years,  he 
was  called  to  the  Regent  Street  Baptist  Church,  Lam- 
beth, London,  where  he  remained  seven  years.  One  year 
(1841)  he  spent  with  a  church  at  Eye,  Suffolk,  and,  the  next 
year,  became  the  jpastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  St.  Ives, 
Huntingdonshire.  Here  he  continued  until  his  sudden  de- 
cease, in  March,  1849. 

The  only  other  hymn  attributed  to  him  appeared  in  the 
"  Supplement "  to  the  London  Evangelical  Magazine^  for 
1836,  on  "The  Believer's  Prospects."  It  contains  seven 
stanzas,  the  first  three  of  which  are  here  given : 

"There  is  a  heaven  of  perfect  peace, 
Transparent,  bright,  and  clear  ; 
But  where,  or  how,  or  what  it  is, 
*  It  doth  not  yet  appear. ' 

"And  there  are  angels  strong  and  fair, 
Who  know  nor  sin  nor  fear  ; 
But  what  the  rohes  of  hght  they  wear, 
'It  doth  not  yet  appear.' 

"And  there  are  ransomed  spirits  too, 
Who  once  were  travehng  here  ; 
But  how  the  Saviour's  face  they  view, 
'  It  doth  not  yet  appeal'.' " 


THOMAS  DAVIS. 

1804 . 


The  Rev.  Thomas  Davis  is  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  England.     His  father,  the  Rev.  Richard  Francis  Davis, 


THOIilAS  DAVIS.  18£ 

D.D.,  was  instituted  (1795)  tlie  Rector  of  All-Saints'  Church, 
Worcester,  where  (1804)  the  son  was  born.  He  was  edu- 
cated for  the  Church,  and  sent  to  Queen's  CoUege,  Oxford, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1832.  The  next  year  he  became 
his  father's  curate,  and  (January  25, 1834)  was  ordained  to 
the  priesthood.  At  the  close  of  1839,  he  obtained  from  the 
patron,  S.  Nicholson,  Esq.,  the  Pei-petual  Curacy  of  St. 
John's  Church,  Roundhay,  near  Leeds.  In  1871,  he  was, 
also,  appointed  chaplain  of  the  reformatory  ship  AJchar, 
lying  in  the  Mersey. 

He  has  been  very  decidedly  addicted  to  poetry.  In  1855, 
he  issued  a  smaU  volume,  entitled,  "  Devotional  Yerse  for  a 
Month,"  etc.;  in  1859,  "Songs  for  the  Suffering";  in  1860, 
"The  Family  Hynmal";  and,  in  1864,  "Hymns,  Old  and 
New,"  a  collection  of  223  selected  and  260  original  hymns. 
A  second  edition  appeared  in  1867.  He  is  of  the  Broad 
Church  party,  having,  in  1866,  put  forth  a  volume,  called, 
"Endless  Sufferings  not  the  Doctrine  of  Scripture." 

From  his  "  Songs  for  the  Suffering"  (1859),  are  taken  the 
following  first  three  stanzas  of  a  hjTnn  of  eight  stanzas,  on 
the  theme,  "Grod  is  Love": 

"Why  comes  this  fragrance  on  the  summer  breeze,— 
The  blended  tribute  of  ten  thousand  flowers, 

To  me,  a  frequent  wanderer  'mid  the  trees 
That  form  these  gay  though  soHtary  bowers  ? 

One  answer  is  around,  beneath,  above  : 

The  echo  of  the  voice,  that  'God  is  Love.' 

"Why  bursts  such  melody  from  tree  and  bush, 

The  overflowing  of  each  songster's  heart, 
So  filling  mine,  that  it  can  scarcely  hush 

Awhile  to  listen,  biit  would  take  its  part  ? 
'Tis  but  one  song  I  hear,  where'er  I  rove. 
Though  countless  be  the  notes,  that  'God  is  Love.' 

"Why  leaps  the  streamlet  down  the  mountain's  side, 

Hastening  so  swiftly  to  the  vale  beneath, 
To  cheer  the  shepherd's  thirsty  flock,  or  glide 

Where  the  hot  sun  has  left  a  faded  wreath, 
Or,  rippling,  aid  the  music  of  the  grove  ? 
Its  own  glad  voice  replies,  that  'God  is  Love.'  " 


186  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

JAMES  GEORGE  DECK. 
1802 . 

Mr.  Deck  is  a  missionary  in  New  Zealand.  He  is  con- 
nected with  the  Plymouth  Brethren,  and  is  the  eldest  son 
of  John  Deck,  Esq.,  of  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  England.  He 
was  born  in  1802,  and  trained  for  the  army.  He  obtained, 
January  2, 1826,  a  lieutenant's  commission  in  the  Fifteenth 
Regiment  of  Native  Infantry,  Madras,  India.  He  was  sta- 
tioned at  Bangalore.  Hi-health,  in  1835,  compelled  his  re- 
turn to  his  native  land. 

He  contributed  several  hymns  to  a  Collection  published 
by  the  Plymouth  Brethren  in  1838,  and  called,  "  Hymns  for 
the  Poor  of  the  Flock."  He  took  charge,  in  1843,  of  the 
Brethren's  congregation  at  Wellington,  Somerset, — having 
retired  from  the  army.  Thence  he  went  to  Weymouth, 
Dorsetshire.  While  at  Wellington,  he  published  (1845), 
"  Joy  in  Departing :  A  Memoir  of  the  Conversion  and  Last 
Days  of  Augustus  James  Clarke,  who  fell  asleep  in  Jesus, 
May  2d,  1845,"  in  his  fourteenth  year ; — the  son  of  a  brother 
officer,  entrusted  to  his  care  on  his  return  from  India.  The 
same  year,  he  also  published,  "  A  Word  of  Warning  to  All 
who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  :  the  Heresy  of  Mr.  Prince,  mth 
Extracts  from  his  Letters."  He  sent  forth,  in  1850  and  1852 ^ 
two  Letters  "  On  Receiving  and  Rejecting  Brethren  from 
the  Table  of  the  Lord."  He  entered  heartily  into  the  mis- 
sionary work,  and,  having  been  thoroughly  acclimated  in 
India,  he  went  abroad,  about  1852,  to  labor  in  New  Zea- 
land, where  he  has  continued  to  reside. 

He  contributed  27  hymns  to  the  Wellington  Hymn-Book, 
edited  (1857)  by  D.  C.  Fox,  Esq.,  and  17  hymns  to  another 
collection  of  "  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs  for  the  Children 
of  God,"  edited  and  published  (1860)  by  John  Usticke  Sco- 
bell,  Esq.     The  hymn  beginning, 

"  It  is  thy  hand,  my  God! " 


MARIA  DE  FLEURY.  187 

"  was  written  to  comfort  a  bereaved  mother  and  widow  in 
lier  hour  of  sorrow." 

The  stanzas  that  follow  are  the  first  and  the  last  of  a  mil- 
lenarian  hymn  of  four  stanzas  : 

"  How  long,  O  Lord,  our  Saviour! 

Wilt  thou  remain  away  ? 
Our  hearts  are  growing  weary 

Of  thy  so  long  delay : 
Oh !  when  shall  come  the  moment, 

When,  brighter  far  than  morn. 
The  sunshine  of  thy  glory 

Shall  on  thy  people  da^vn  ? 

"  Oh!  wake  thy  slumbering  virgins; 

Send  forth  the  solemn  cry, 
Let  all  thy  saints  repeat  it, — 

'  The  Bridegroom  draweth  nigh  I ' 
May  all  our  lamps  be  burning. 

Our  loins  well  gu-ded  be, 
Each  longing  heart  i^reparing 

With  joy  thy  face  to  see." 


MARIA  DE  FLEUEY. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  personal  history  of  Miss 
De  Fleury.  Her  home  and,  probably,  her  birth  were  in 
London.  She  wrote  an  " Epithalamium,"  addressed  "by 
their  affectionate  sister,"  "to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  De  Fleury, 
Junrs.,  Married,  N^ovember  25th,  1773."  She  was,  at  that 
time,  a  devout  Christian.  One  of  her  miscellaneous  pieces 
is,  "An  Elegy  on  the  Death  of  my  Sister,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Burrows,"  who  died  "in  prime  of  life,"  whose  "tragic 
story  "  she  forbears  to  tell,  in  view  of  her  happy  transla- 
tion to  a  better  world.  Of  her  family,  nothing  further  can 
be  gleaned. 

She  resided  in  Jewin  Street,  and  was  for  some  years  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Church,  Barbican  (an  offshoot 
from  the  Jewin  Street  Church),  of  which  the  Rev.  John 


188  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Towers  was  long  the  pastor.  He  speaks  of  her  in  his  In 
troduction  to  her  "  Poems,"  as  "  a  pious  godly  woman,  who 
fears  God  above  many";  as  having  "a  style,  rather  mascu- 
line," because,  probably,  of  her  "  being  frequently  in  the 
company  of  ministers."  The  Rev.  Thomas  Wills,  of  Silver 
Street  Church  (who,  also,  wrote  an  introduction  to  her 
book),  says  that  she  "is  so  well  known  in  the  religious 
world  by  her  many  productions,  as  to  need  neither  intro- 
duction nor  any  recommendation  of  mine  to  the  public." 
He  siDeaks  of  her  as  "  poor  in  this  world,  though  rich  in 
grace";  as  "perfectly  sound  in  the  Gospel,"  and  as  a 
"faithful  champion  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints."  The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Ryland,  also,  commends  her 
"  Poems,"  and  professes  that  his  "  respect  to  the  author  is 
sincere."  This  is  the  sum  of  her  personal  history,  so  far  as 
can  now  be  learned.  She  herself  says,  that  she  had  "  not 
enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education."  She  w^as 
evidently  a  woman  of  vigorous  thought, 'of  considerable 
poetic  fervor,  moving  in  respectable  society,  and  held  in 
much  esteem  by  the  godly  among  the  Dissenting  churches 
of  the  period. 

She  contributed  two  hymns  to  the  "  Supplement "  of  TJie 
Gospel  Magazine  for  1776.  She  published,  in  1781,  "  A  Se- 
rious Address  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Huntington,"  "Unright- 
eous Abuse  Detected  and  Chastised";  in  1782,  "Henry,  or 
the  Triumph  of  Grace";  in  1783,  "An  Ode";  in  1787,  "A 
Letter  to  Mr.  Huntington"  (3d  Ed.) ;  in  1791,  "  Antinomi- 
anism  Unmasked  and  Refuted,"  "  Falsehood  Examined  at 
the  Bar  of  Truth,  or  a  Farewell  to  Mr.  W.  Huntington,"  and 
her  "Divine  Poems."  Mr.  Huntington,  Minister  of  Provi- 
dence Chapel,  London,  was  at  that  time  a  leading  Antino- 
mian  among  the  Calvinistic  Methodists.  Miss  De  Fleury 
w^as  herself  a  thorough  Calvinist. 

The  first  of  her  Divine  Poems  is  entitled  "Immanuel." 
It  is  a  poem,  in  blank  verse,  of  1,600  lines.  The  following 
stanzas  are  from  "  An  Hymn  of  Praise,"  in  fourteen  stanzas : 

"  Come,  0  my  soul!  awake;  awake  and  sing; 
Come,  tune  thy  harp  to  sweetest,  softest  lays ; 


SIR  EDWARD  DENNY.  189 

Record  the  wonders  of  thy  God  and  Kmg, 
And  offer  up  a  song  of  gratefiil  praise. 

*  My  Father  and  my  God !  to  thee  I'll  sing 
Eternal  anthems  of  unbounded  praise ; 
Myself,  my  all,  an  humble  offering  bring 
To  thee,  the  God  of  Providence  and  Grace. 

"  Oh  for  a  thousand  hearts  to  love  thy  name ! 
A  thousand  tongues  to  sing  thy  glories  high  I 
To  spread  abroad  thine  everlasting  fame, 
And  join  the  hallelujahs  of  the  sky ! " 


SIR  EDWARD  DENNY. 

1796 . 

It  is  not  often  tliat  so  mucli  poetic  grace  and  fervent  pi- 
ety are  combined  with  such  eminent  position,  as  in  the  case 
of  Sir  Edward  Denny.  He  is  a  native  of  County  Kerry, 
Ireland,  and  was  bom,  October  2,  1796,  at  Tralee  Castle, 
the  Seat  of  his  father.  At  an  early  period  of  his  life,  he 
espoused  the  peculiar  tenets  of  the  Plymouth  Brethren. 
He  has  long  been  a  firm  believer  in  the  Millenarian  theory 
of  the  Second  Coming  of  our  Lord,  and  his  Personal  Reign 
on  Earth  for  a  thousand  years.  A  large  portion  of  his  beau- 
tiful hymns  are  "Millennial  Hymns."  They  were  contrib- 
uted, occasionally,  to  various  publications.  Having  been 
frequently  asked  by  his  friends  to  point  out  his  own  hymns 
in  the  Collections  into  which  they  had  been  gathered,  he 
published  them  in  a  modest  volume,  with  the  title,  "  Hymns 
and  Poems,  by  Sir  Edward  Denny,  Bart.,  London,  1839,"— 
a  second  edition  appearing  in  1848. 

In  the  Preface  to  his  book,  he  deprecates  most  earnestly 
"  the  practice  of  needlessly  altering  some  even  of  our  well- 
known  favorite  hymns."  He  says :  "  It  is  surely  not  fair  to 
treat  another's  compositions  in  this  way,  especially  where  he 


190  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

is  not  unsoiind  as  to  doctrine.  In  writing  a  hymn  or  a 
poem,  an  author  knows  his  own  meaning  and  object  far 
better  than  another  can  possibly  do ;  and,  where  he  finds 
that  his  thoughts  have  been  meddled  with  and  deranged 
in  this  way,  he  is  painfully  conscious  that  he  has  been  mis- 
understood, and  that  the  sense  has  been  either  perverted  or 
weakened." 

Sir  Edward  is  the  author  of  several  elaborate  Charts, 
respectively  called,  "A  Prophetical  Stream  of  Time"; 
"The  Seventy  Weeks  of  Daniel";  and  "The  Cycle  of  Sev- 
enty Weeks. "  He  has  written,  also,  and  published,  several 
cheap  Tracts  and  Broad-sheets,  illustrative  of  his  Millena- 
rian  views. 

One  of  his  "  Miscellaneous  Poems  "  is  inscribed  "  To  the 
Memory  of  a  Beloved  Mother,  who  Fell  Asleep  in  Jesus, 
April  27, 1828,"  and  had  obtained  peace  in  believing  through 
his  prayers  and  pleadings.  Two  others  follow  "  on  the 
same  "  theme.  His  father  having  died  in  August,  1831,  he 
succeeded  to  the  title  and  estate  as  fourth  baronet. 

The  stanzas  that  follow  are  from  his  hymn,  entitled, 
"The  Heart  watching  for  the  Morning": 

"Light  of  the  lonely  pilgrim's  heart, 
Star  of  the  coming  day ! 
Arise,  and,  with  thy  morning  beams, 
Chase  all  our  griefs  away. 

"  Come,  blessed  Lord !  bid  every  shore   . 
And  answering  island  sing 
The  praises  of  thy  royal  name, 
And  own  thee  as  their  King. 

"Bid  the  whole  earth,  responsive  now 
To  the  bright  world  above, 
Break  forth  in  rapturous  strains  of  joy, 
In  mem'ry  of  thy  love." 


DAVID  DICKSON.  19J 

DAVID  DICKSON. 
1583-1662. 

Iisr  tTie  "Short  Account  of  the  Life  of  the  Rev.  David 
Dickson"  (1726),  the  Rev.  Robert  Wodrow,  the  distin- 
guished historian  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  eminent  for 
historical  research,  fulness  of  information,  and  scrupulous 
accuracy,  having  enumerated  some  of  Dickson's  writings, 
adds :  "  Besides  these,  he  wrote  ....  some  short  poems 
on  pious  and  serious  subjects,  which,  I  am  told,  have  been 
very  useful  when  printed  and  spread  among  country  people 
and  servants ;  such  as  '  The  Christian  Sacrifice ';  '  O  Mother 
dear,  Jerusalem ! '  and  one  somewhat  larger,  8vo,  1649,  en- 
titled '  True  Christian  Love,'  to  be  sung  with  the  common 
tunes  of  the  Psalms.  This  is  all  of  his  I  have  seen  in 
print." 

In  a  marginal  note,  the  Rev.  W.  K.  Tweedie,  editor  of 
the  Wodrow  Society  Publications,  further  says :  "  There  is, 
also,  a  poem  ascribed  to  Dickson,  entitled  '  Honey  Drops, 
or  Crystal  Streams,'  and  sometimes  printed  along  with  the 
others. " 

It  thus  appears,  that  Dickson  was  the  author  of  several 
poems ;  that  these  poems  had  been  often  printed ;  that  they 
had  obtained  a  considerable  circulation  "among  country 
people  and  servants,"  by  whom  they  were  much  prized  and 
cherished ;  and  that  among  these  was  the  poem,  beginning 
with  "  O  Mother  dear,  Jerusalem !  "  There  is,  of  course,  no 
difficulty  in  verifying  this  production,  as  it  has  been  so 
often  reproduced  in  print,  and  has  had  such  wide  currency 
among  the  churches  of  Scotland,  where  the  memory  of  its 
author  is  so  reverently  cherished. 

Tlie  poem  consists  of  248  lines,  in  thirty-one  double  stan- 
zas, of  C.  M.,  or  in  "  the  Common  tune  of  the  Psalms."  The 
theme  and  its  treatment  are,  doubtless,  derived  from  the 
old  Latin  versifiers  of  the  mediseval  period  of  the  Church, 
with  whom  Dickson  was  familiar.  They  may  have  been 
suggested  by  the  anonymous  Latin  hymn  of  48  lines,  writ- 


192  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ten,  it  is  tliouglit,  in  the  eiglitli  century,  and  beginning 

witli 

"Urbs  beata  Hierusalem, 

Dicta  pacis  visio  " ; 

and  more  particularly  by  the  latter  part  of  Hildebert's 
grand  liymn  to  the  Trinity,  and  Bernard  de  Clugny's  in- 
conij)arable  poem  on  "  The  Contempt  of  the  World," 

"  Hie  breve  vivitur,"  etc. 

These  again  were  undoubtedly  derived  from  the  prose  writ- 
ings of  Gregory  the  Great,  and  the  25th  chapter  of  the 
"Meditations"  of  St.  Augustine,  beginning  with  "Mater 
Hierusalem,  civitas  sancti  Dei,  charissima  sponsa  Christi,  te 
amat  cor  meum,"  etc. ;  on  which  Cardinal  Peter  Damianus 
based  his  "  Hymn  on  the  Glory  of  Paradise," 

"Ad  perennis  vitae  fontem  mens  sitivit  arida,"  etc. 

It  has  generally  been  supposed  that  Dickson  was  the  first 
to  give  expression  to  these  glowing  views  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem, in  English  verse.  But,  in  1852,  the  Rev.  Horatius 
Bonar,  D.D.,  then  of  Kelso,  Scotland,  in  a  Monogram  on 
this  Hymn,  stated  that  he  had  found  in  the  British  Museum 
a  manuscript  volume  of  religious  songs,  without  date,  but 
apparently  written  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  in  which  is  contained  a  copy  of  a  portion  of  this 
very  poem,  with  the  title,  "A  Song  made  by  F.  B.  P.,  to 
the  Tune  of  Diana."  Nothing  appears  to  be  known  of  the 
origin  of  this  volume  or  of  the  "  Song  "  itself,  much  less  of 
"F.  B.  P."  It  is  evident,  at  a  glance,  that  the  copyist  has 
borrowed  his  "  Song  "  from  Dickson,  or  that  Dickson  him- 
seK  is  the  borrower.    Which  is  the  most  probable  ? 

Dickson's  Poem  has  31  double  stanzas,— 248  lines ;  "  F. 
B.  P."  has  only  26  single  stanzas,— 104  lines.  Of  Dickson's, 
only  16  double  stanzas  are  reproduced  by  "  F.  B.  P.,"  and 
these  with  marked  variations,  in  the  phraseology,  and  in 
the  order  of  the  stanzas  and  lines,  just  such  as  might  be 
accounted  for  by  an  imperfect  memory.  No  attempt  is 
made  to  reproduce  the  last  15  double  stanzas ;   there  is 


DAVID  DICKSON.  193 

nothing  in  "F.  B.  P.'s"  "Song"  to  answer  to  them.  A 
careful  comparison  of  the  two  productions  will  Justify  the 
conclusion,  that  the  Museum  copy  is  the  result  of  an  en- 
deavor to  commit  to  writing  so  much  of  Dickson's  hymn  as 
could  be  remembered,  either  by  the  copyist,  or  by  some 
one  of  his  friends. 

Dr.  Bonar  shows,  from  internal  evidence,  that  the  Museum 
volume  was  written  probably  as  late  as  1616 ;  it  may,  for 
aught  that  appears,  have  been  written  much  later.  Now  at 
that  date  (1616)  Dickson  was  at  least  thirty-three  years  old, 
and  a  Professor  of  Philosophy.  He  was,  moreover,  a  man 
of  too  much  scholarship  and  conscience  to  be  a  plagiarist. 
His  claim  to  be  regarded  as  the  author  of  the  "  New  Jeru- 
salem" hymn  is  not  to  be  set  aside  on  such  insufficient 
grounds.  The  unknown  "F.  B.  P."  is  the  copyist,  not  the 
well-known  Dickson. 

An  abridgment  of  the  hymn  (in  8  single  stanzas)  was 
published  by  the  Rev.  William  Burkitt,  in  his  "  Poor 
Man's  Help,  and  Young  Man's  Guide :  Also  Divine  Hymns 
on  Several  Occasions."  The  Preface  is  dated,  "Dedham, 
1693."  A  part  of  Burkitt's  hymn  is  taken  from  Rev.  John 
Mason's  30th  hymn.  Another  abridgment,  containing  20 
of  Dickson's  stanzas,  appears  in  the  February  Number  of 
The  Gentlemmi's  Magazine,  for  1798,  which  probably  gave 
occasion  to  the  brief  one  in  "  Williams  and  Boden's  Collec- 
tion," 1801. 

David  Dickson  was  the  tDnly  child  of  John  Dick,  or  Dick- 
son, a  pious  and  wealthy  merchant  of  Glasgow,  Scotland, 
where  David  was  born,  about  1583.  He  received  a  thorough 
education  at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  where  he  took,  in 
course,  the  degrees  of  A.B.  and  A.M.  In  1610,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Regent  or  Professor  of  Philosophy  in  the  same 
University,  devoting  himself,  with  his  associates,  Messrs. 
Boyd  and  Blair,  to  the  revival  of  godliness  among  the  un- 
dergraduates. He  was  ordained,  in  1618,  to  the  pastoral 
charge  of  Irvine,  Ayrshire,  the  birthplace,  long  after,  of  the 
poet,  James  Montgomery.  Here  he  labored  with  great  suc- 
cess until  January,  1622,  when  he  was  deposed  for  non- 
13 


194  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

compliance  with  the  Perth  Articles,  and  banished  to  Tur- 
riff. In  July,  1623,  he  was  permitted  to  return  to  his 
parish,  where  he  remained,  in  the  faithful  and  successful 
discharge  of  his  parochial  duties,  until  1641,  when  he  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of  Glas- 
gow. In  the  great  Stewarton  Revival  (1625-1630),  he  had 
taken  an  active  and  leading  part.  He  was  Moderator  of 
the  General  Assembly,  in  1639.  In  the  records  of  the  Uni- 
versity he  is  styled,  "  Doctor  et  Professor  SS.  Theologise." 
Though  entitled  to  it,  he  never  used  the  designation  of  D.D. 

He  remained  at  Glasgow  until  1650,  when  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Divinity  Chair  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  coun- 
try during  the  period  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  having, 
at  the  Restoration,  refused  to  take  the  oath  of  supremacy, 
he  was  deprived  of  his  Professorship.  He  died  in  Decem- 
ber, 1662,  having  lived  nearly  fourscore  years.  He  ranked 
among  the  ablest  and  most  influential  ministers  of  his  na- 
tive land. 

Among  his  publications  were,  "A  Commentary  on  the  He- 
brews," "  on  Matthew,"  "  on  the  Psalms,"  and  "  on  the  Epis- 
tles, Latin  and  English";  " Therapeutica  Sacra:  or  Cases 
of  Conscience  Resolved,"  in  Latin  and  in  English ;  also,  "  A 
Treatise  on  the  Promises."  He  left  many  other  works  in 
manuscript.  After  a  long  life  devoted  to  his  Master's  ser- 
vice, his  prayer  was  granted,  as  he  had  expressed  it  in  his 
"  New  Jerusalem  ": 

"  Oh!  happy  thousand  times  were  I, 

If,  after  wretched  days, 
I  might,  with  listening  ears,  conceive 

Those  heavenly  songs  of  praise, 
Which  to  th'  eternal  King  are  sung 

By  happy  wights  above,  • 

By  saved  souls  and  angels  sweet, 

Who  love  the  God  of  love. 

*'  Yet  once  again  I  pray  thee,  Lordl 
To  quit  me  from  all  strife. 
That  to  thy  hill  I  may  attain, 
And  dwell  there  all  my  life, 


WILLIAM  CHATTERTON  DIX.  195 

With  cherubims  and  serapliims, 

And  holy  soids  of  men, 
To  sing  thy  praise,  O  God  of  hosts ! 

For  ever,  and  Amen." 


WILLIAM  CHATTERTON  DIX. 
1837 . 

The  revival  and  spread  of  Ritualism  in  the  Cliiu  cli  of 
England  liave  given  bu'th.  and  currency  to  a  medieval  style 
of  modern  hymnology.  *  Mr.  Dix's  poetry  is  of  this  char- 
acter. He  is  the  son  of  Mr.  John  R.  Dix,  of  Bristol,  Eng- 
land, where  he  was  born,  June  14, 1837.  His  father  was  a 
surgeon,  and  a  man  of  letters,  having,  at  various  times, 
published^  "Lays  of  Home,"  "Local  Legends  of  Bristol," 
"  Progress  of  Intemperance,"  and  a  "  Life  of  Thomas  Chat- 
terton,"  that  juvenile  prodigy  of  Bristol ;  he  seems  to  have 
migrated  to  America,  where  he  died  several  years  since. 

The  son  inherits  his  father's  passion  for  literature.  But, 
though  well  educated  at  the  grammar-school  of  Bristol,  he 
gave  himself  to  mercantile  pursuits.  About  1863,  he  re- 
moved to  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  took  a  desirable  position 
in  a  Marine  Insurance  Office.  He  has  contributed  hymns 
to  several  Collections :  to  "  St.  Raphael's  Hymnal "  (1861) ; 
three  hymns  to  "  Lyra  Eucharistica "  (1863) ;  twenty-one 
to  "  Lyra  Messianica  "  (1865) ;  and  others  to  an  "  Hlustrated 
Book  of  Poems  "  (1867).  Several  of  his  hymns  are  trans- 
lations from  the  Greek.  One  of  his  best  is  his  Christmas 
Hymn,  entitled,  "  The  Manger-Throne,"  the  first  two  stan- 
zas of  which  follow : 

' '  Like  silver  lamps  in  a  distant  shrine, 

The  stars  are  sparkling-  clear  and  bright ; 

The  bells  of  the  City  of  God  ring  out. 
For  the  Son  of  Mary  was  born  to-night ; 

The  gloom  is  past,  and  the  mom  at  last 
Is  coming  with  orient  light. 


196  THE  POETS  OP  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Never  fell  melodies  half  so  sweet, 

As  those  which  are  filling  the  skies  ; 

And  never  a  palace  shone  half  so  fair, 
As  the  manger-bed  where  oiu'  Saviour  lies : 

No  night  in  the  year  is  half  so  dear, 
As  this  which  has  ended  our  sighs." 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  DOANE. 

1799-1859. 

Geoege  Washington  Doane,'  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  pre- 
eminently fitted  to  be  a  leader  and  ruler  of  men.  As  a 
bishop  of  the  Episcopal  Church  he  greatly  magnified  his 
ofiice,  and  made  full  proof  of  his  ministry.  Among  his 
peers,  he  was  peerless  in  magnetic  power  and  episcopal 
grace.     He  was  one  of  the  notables  of  his  generation. 

He  was  born  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  May  27,  1799.  In  his 
childhood,  the  family,  who  were  Ej)iscopalians,  removed  to 
New  York  City,  and  he -was  sent  to  the  school  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Edmund  Barry,  of  linguistic  fame.  In  his  tenth  year, 
his  father  became  a  resident  of  Geneva,  N.  Y. ,  where  the 
son  entered  Mr.  Hubbell's  school,  and  was  fitted  for  college. 
He  graduated  from  Union  College,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  in 
1818,  with  distinguished  honor. 

His  attention  was  now  turned  to  the  law,  and,  for  a  short 
time,  he  pursued  his  studies  in  the  ofiice  of  Richard  Har- 
rison, Esq. ,  of  New  York  City.  But,  under  the  influence 
of  Prof,  (afterwards  Bishop)  Brownell,  then  of  New  York 
City,  he  abandoned  the  law,  and  joined  a  theological  class 
under  the  care  and  teaching  of  Bishop  Hobart,  Dr.  Jarvis, 
and  Prof.  Brownell.  At  the  same  time,  he  devoted  several 
hours  daily  to  teaching,  for  the  support  of  his  mother  and 
sisters. 

He  was  ordained,  April  19, 1821,  a  deacon,  by  Bishop 
Hobart,  in  Christ  Church,  N.  Y. ;  was  presently  appointed 
an  assistant  minister  of  Trinity  Church,  N.  Y. ;  and  was 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  DOANE.  I97 

ordained  to  the  priesthood,  August  6, 1823,  also,  by  Bishop 
Hobart,  in  Trinity  Church.  In  September,  1824,  he  became 
Professor  of  Belles-Lettres  and  Oratory,  in  the  newly-organ- 
ized Washington  (now  Trinity)  College,  Hartford,  Conn. 
To  secure  funds  for  the  college,  he  travelled  extensively  in 
the  Southern  States.  He  was  now  associated  with  the  Rev. 
William  Croswell  in  editing  the  Episcopal  Watcliman. 
A  close  and  intimate  life-long  friendship  was  formed  be- 
tween them.  Bishop  Doane  named,  for  his  friend,  one  of 
his  sons,  who  is  now  the  Bishop  of  the  Episco^Dal  Diocese 
of  Albany.  The  same  year  (1824),  he  published  his  "  Songs 
by  the  Way,  chiefly  Devotional ;  with  Translations  and 
Imitations," — in  which  appear  the  two  well-known  hymns : 

"Softly  now  the  light  of  day,"  etc., 
and 

"  Thou  ai't  the  Way; — to  thee  alone,"  etc. 

His  contributions  to  the  Watchman,  also,  were  frequent. 

In  1828,  he  accepted  a  call  from  Trinity  Church,  Boston, 
as  Assistant  to  the  Rev.  Dr;  John  S.  J.  Gardiner,  at  whose 
decease,  July  29, 1830,  he  was  chosen  in  his  place,  as  Rector. 
In  1829,  he  married  Miss  Eliza  Greene  Perkins.  His  church 
was  the  most  influential  of  the  denomination  in  the  city, 
and  he  occupied  a  commanding  position,  filling  it  with 
credit  and  honor.  On  the  death  (July  26, 1832)  of  the  ven- 
erable Bishop  Croes,  of  ISTew  Jersey,  Mr.  Doane  was  chosen 
(October  3)  his  successor,  and  (October  31)  he  was  duly  con- 
secrated as  the  Second  Episcopal  Bishop  of  New  Jersey. 
He  fixed  his  residence  at  Burlington,  IN".  J.,  and,  the  fol- 
lowing year,  became  the  Rector  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  of 
that  town.  He  now  entered  on  a  remarkable  career  of 
Episcopal  enterprise,  labor,  and  prerogative,  scarcely  paral- 
leled in  the  history  of  the  American  Church. 

He  founded  (1837)  a  Church  School  for  Girls  (St.  Mary's 
Hall),  over  which  he  presided  and  watched  with  great  assi- 
duity and  zeal.  To  obtain  a  training-school  for  his  minis- 
terial candidates,  he  founded,  in  1846,  and  presided  over, 
Burlington  College.     His  financial  projects,  entered  into 


198  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

with  cliaracteristic  ardor,  but  with  a  lack  of  commercial 
foresight  and  prudence,  involved  him  in  serious  pecuniary 
embarrassments,  resulting  in  painful  controversy,  and  judi- 
cial proceedings  on  the  part  of  the  Church  authorities. 

His  attachments  were  ardent  and  faithful,  especially 
towards  the  young,  with  whom  he  was  a  great  favorite. 
He  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the  Oxford  Tractarians,  and, 
on  a  visit  to  England,  in  1841,  was  received  with  distin- 
guished honor.  As  one  result  of  Tractarianism,  he  had 
occasion  to  mourn  over  the  perversion  of  his  eldest  son  to 
the  Church  of  Rome. 

He  stamped  his  own  image  on  the  Diocese  of  New  Jer- 
sey. Under  his  administration,  its  clergy  increased  from 
eighteen  to  ninety -nine,  its  parishes  from  thirty  to  eighty- 
four,  and  its  communicants  from  six  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  to  five  thousand;  while  the  annual  offerings  rose 
from  less  than  four  hundred  to  fifty  thousand  dollars.  He 
abounded  in  labors,  and  was,  in  consequence,  prematurely 
cut  off.  He  died,  after  a  short  illness,  at  his  "  Riverside  " 
home,  Burlington,  April  27, 1859,  nearly  sixty  years  old. 

His  Biography,  Poems,  Seraions,  Charges,  and  numerous 
other  writings,  were  published  (1860)  by  his  son.  Bishop 
Doane,  of  Albany.  One  of  his  sweetest  poems,  written  in 
Northfield  Vicarage,  England,  1841,  is  here  subjoined : 

"hoc  eeat  in  votis." 

"This  was  in  all  my  prayers,  since  first  I  prayed: — 
A  Parsonage,  in  a  sweet  garden's  shade ; 
The  Church  adjoining,  with  its  ivied  tower ; 
A  peal  of  bells,  a  clock  to  tell  the  hour ; 
A  rustic  flock,  to  feed  from  day  to  day, 
And  kneel  with  them,  at  morn,  and  eve,  and  pray. 
He,  who  '  doth  all  things  well,'  denied  my  prayer, 
And  bade  me  take  th'  Apostle's  staff  and  bear, 
The  scattered  sheep  o'er  liill  and  dale  pursue, 
Feed  the  old  flocks  and  gather  in  the  new ; 
Count  ease,  and  health,  and  life,  and  all  things  loss, 
So  I  make  known  the  blessed  bleeding  Cross. 
These  quiet  scenes,  that  never  can  be  mine, 
This  homebred  happiness,  dear  friend !  be  thine ; 


JOHN  DOBELL.  199 

Each  choicest  gift,  and  influence  from  above, 
Descend  on  thee,  and  all  that  share  thy  love ; 
Peace,  which  the  world  gives  not,  nor  can  destroy, 
The  prelibation  of  eternal  joy." 


JOHN  DOBELL. 

1757-1840. 

John  Dobell  was  the  compiler  of  "A  New  Selection  of  700 
Evangelical  Hymns,  for  Private,  Family,  and  Public  Wor- 
ship (many  original)  fi'om  more  than  200  of  the  best  Authors 
in  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  America;  arranged  in 
alphabetical  order,  intended  as  a  Supplement  to  Dr.  Watts's 
Psalms  and  Hymns":  published  at  London,  1806.  A 
second  edition,  enlarged  to  800  hymns,  appeared  in  1812. 
An  American  edition  was  issued,  in  1822,  at  Morristown, 
N.  J.,  and  extensively  patronized.  Several  editions  were 
published  in  England. 

He  was  induced  to  make  the  Selection,  at  the  suggestion 
of  a  pious  young  lady  in  Cornwall,  whom  he  visited  in 
sickness,  and  who  said  to  him,  "I  wish  I  could  see  before 
I  die  a  Hymn-Book  full  of  Christ  and  his  Gospel,  and 
without  any  mixture  of  free-wiU  or  merit."  The  work 
was  "the  labor  of  years,  and  the  choice  of  many  thousand 
hymns";  many  of  them  were  furnished  to  him  in  manu- 
script. Some  of  the  hymns  he  abridged ;  to  some,  he  added 
stanzas  of  his  own,  indicated  by  single  inverted  commas ; 
and  twenty  of  them  are  from  his  own  pen.  Among  these 
is  the  favorite  hymn,  much  used  in  revivals  of  religion, 

beginning,  .    . 

"Now  is  th'  accepted  time,"  etc. 

He  gave,  also,  the  names  of  the  authors,  as  correctly  as 
possible,  or  of  the  "  Collection"  from  which  the  hymn  was 
taken.    It  was,  in  many  respects,  a  valuable  "  Selection." 
Dobell's  early  history  is  not  accessible.     He  was  born  in 


200  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

1757,  and  resided  at  Poole,  Dorsetshire,  England.  He  held 
a  position,  as  port-gauger,  under  tlie  Board  of  Excise.  He 
was  a  Dissenter,  and  attached  to  the  Skinner  Street  Chapel, 
of  which  the  Rev.  Edward  Ashbumer,  and,  after  him,  the 
Rev.  Tliomas  Durant,  were  pastors.  His  form  was  tall,  and 
quite  conspicuous ;  and  as  his  "  Selection "  was  in  use  by 
the  congregation,  he  was  familiarly  called,  "Old  Do-bell." 
He  died  at  Poole,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  and  was  buried 
there,  June  1, 1840. 

He  published  (1807)  a  book  on  "Baptism,"  and  (1812)  an- 
other on  "  Humanity."  In  1828,  he  published  two  volumes, 
the  first  of  which  he  called  "  The  Christian's  Golden  Treas- 
ure, or  Gospel  Comfort  for  Doubting  Minds,"  containing 
124  hymns,  "many  of  them  original ";  the  second  he  called 
"  The  Christian's  Companion  in  his  Journey  to  Heaven," 
containing  a  number  of  religious  Essays,  each  of  which  is 
illustrated  by  an  original  poetic  composition, — of  which  the 
following  stanzas  are  a  fair  specimen : 

"  God  wiU  advance  his  saints 
To  tlirones  of  heavenly  bliss, 
Where  each  shall  wear  a  starry  crown 
Of  perfect  righteousness. 

"  With  Jesus  they  shall  dwell, 
Released  from  toil  and  care, 
Far  from  the  reach  of  sm  and  hell, 
And  every  hui'tful  snare. 

"  Through  an  eternal  day, 

Their  happy  souls  shall  rest, 
There  God  shall  wipe  their  tears  away, 
And  take  them  to  his  rest." 


ANNA  [SCHINDLER]  DOBER. 

1713-1739. 

Mes.  Dober's  maiden  name  was  Anna  Schindler.     She 
was  born,  April  9,  1713,  at  Kunewalde,  Moravia.    At  an 


PHILIP  DODDEIDGE.  201 

early  age  site  became  connected  with,  the  settlement  of 
"  The  United  Brethren  "  at  Hermhut, — founded  by  Count 
Zinzendorf,  in  1722.  She  was  distinguished  for  her  ardent 
piety.  Her  husband,  John  Leonard  Dober,  to  whom  she 
was  married,  July  13,  1737,  had  been  a  Moravian  mission- 
ary at  St.  Thomas,  in  the  West  Indies,  and  after  two  years' 
[1732-1734]  arduous  service,  had  been  recalled  to  occupy 
the  position  of  the  General  Eldership,  or  Superintendent 
of  the  whole  mission  work  of  the  Brethren,  at  home  and 
abroad.  Her  mission  was  soon  fulfilled,  as  she  was  taken 
to  rest,  December  12, 1739,  at  Marienborn. 

Several  of  her  hymns  were  included  in  The  Brethren's 
Collection,  translations  of  seven  of  which  found  their  way 
into  the  Hymn-Book  of  the  United  Brethren  in  England, 
and  some  of  them  are  found,  also,  in  the  American  Book. 
They  are  characterized  by  great  spiiituality,  holy  fervor, 
and  ardent  devotion  to  the  person  and  kingdom  of  the 
Redeemer. 


PHILIP   DODDRIDGE. 
1702-1751. 

Beyond  all  question,  the  name  of  Doddridge  is  to  be 
classed  with  the  names  of  the  most  honored  of  the  Poets 
of  the  Sanctuary, — Watts,  Wesley,  Steele,  JSTewton,  Cowper, 
and  Kelly — names  that  will  never  die. 

Philip  Doddridge  was  the  grandson  of  the  Rev.  John 
Doddridge,  of  Shepperton,  Middlesex,  England,  who  was 
ejected  from  his  parish,  by  the  celebrated  "  Act  of  Unifor- 
mity," in  1662.  His  maternal  grandfather  was  the  Rev.  John 
Bauman,  of  Prague,  Bohemia,  who  was,  also,  a  sufferer  for 
conscience'  sake  in  his  native  land,  and  who,  on  his  arrival, 
a  poor  exile,  in  England,  about  1626,  became  the  master  of 
a  free  school,  at  Kingston-upon-Thames,  where  he  died 
(1688)  at  an  advanced  age.   Bauman's  only  chUd  became  the 


202  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

wife  of  John  Doddridge's  son,  Daniel,  and  the  mother  of  his 
twenty  children.  Of  these  children,  all,  except  a  daugh- 
ter, and  Philip,  the  youngest,  died  in  infancy.  The  daugh- 
ter became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  John  Nettleton,  a  Dissent- 
ing minister  of  Ongar,  Essex,  and  died  in  1734. 

Daniel  Doddridge  resided  at  London,  and  was  a  dealer 
in  oil.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  devotedly  pious.  Philip 
was  born  June  26, 1702.  At  his  birth,  he  was  sui^posed  to 
be  dead,  but,  by  assiduous  pains-taking,  the  life  was  feebly 
developed,— a  feebleness  from  which  he  never  fully  recov- 
ered. "  I  was  brought  up,"  he  says,  "  in  the  early  knowl- 
edge of  religion,  by  my  pious  parents,  who  were,  in  their 
character,  very  worthy  of  their  birth  and  education  ;  and 
I  well  remember,  that  my  mother  taught  me  the  history  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  before  I  could  read,  by  the 
assistance  of  some  blue  Dutch  tiles  in  the  chimney-place 
of  the  room  where  we  commonly  sat ;  and  the  wise  and 
pious  reflections  she  made  upon  those  stories,  were  the 
means  of  enforcing  such  good  impressions  on  my  heart 
as  never  afterwards  wore  out."  Both  of  his  parents  died 
in  1715. 

At  an  early  age,  he  was  sent  to  a  school  in  London, 
taught  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stott.  Then,  at  ten,  he  went  to 
the  school  at  Kingston-upon-Thames,  formerly  his  grand- 
father's. At  his  father's  death,  he  was  sent  to  the  school 
of  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Wood,  at  St.  Albans,  about  twenty 
miles  north  of  London.  Here  he  enjoyed  the  pastoral  care 
of  the  excellent  and  eminent  Rev.  Samuel  Clark,  noted  for 
his  book  on  "  The  Promises,"  and,  February  1,  1718,  he 
united  with  the  church,  at  St.  Albans. 

His  patrimony  was  lost  by  the  mismanagement  of  his 
guardian.  At  the  suggestion  of  his  uncle,  Philip  Dodd- 
ridge, Esq.,  who  had  been  steward  for  the  Duke  of  Bed- 
ford until  his  death  in  1711,  the  Dowager  Duchess  of 
Bedford  kindly  expressed  her  readiness  to  give  him  a  Uni- 
versity Education,  and  provide  him  a  living,  if  he  would 
conform  to  the  Church  of  England.  But,  for  conscience' 
sake,  he  declined  the  offer.     He  thought  of  studying,  as 


PHILIP  DODDEIDGE.  203 

advised  by  Rev.  Dr.  Calamy,  for  tlie  law.  But  an  iinex- 
pected  offer  from  lais  pastor,  Mr.  Clark,  to  be  at  charges 
for  his  education,  ended  his  perplexity.  He  now  entered 
(1719)  the  Academy  of  the  Rev.  John  Jennings,  at  Kib- 
worth,  Harcourt,  Leicestershire.  The  school  was  removed 
in  1722  to  Hincldey. 

Here,  July  22, 1722,  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  though  he 
still  continued  his  studies.  In  the  spring  of  1723,  he  was 
called  both  to  Coventry  and  to  Kibworth.  The  call  from 
the  latter,  though  the  humbler  place,  he  accepted,  that  he 
might  have  more  time  to  study.  He  was  settled  there 
June,  1723,  and  gave  himself  heartily  to  his  work.  "  It  is 
one  of  the  most  unpolite  congregations  I  ever  knew,"  he 
says,  "  consisting  almost  entirely  of  farmers  and  graziers, 
with  their  subalterns.  I  have  not  so  much  as  a  tea-table 
in  my  diocese,  although  above  eight  miles  in  extent,  and 
but  one  hoop-petticoat  in  the  whole  circuit,"  .  .  .  .  "  and 
were  it  not  for  talking  to  the  cattle,  admiring  the  poultry, 
and  preaching  twice  every  Sabbath,  I  should  certainly  lose 
the  organs  of  speech."  "  Kitty  Freeman,"  a  young  damsel 
of  the  vicinity,  won  his  heart,  and  then  rejected  him.  It 
was  overruled  to  his  greater  sanctification. 

He  took  board,  June,  1725,  with  Mrs.  Jennings  (the  widow 
of  his  late  teacher),  at  Market  Harborough,  six  miles  from 
Kibworth,  and  greatly  enjoyed  the  change.  He  would  ha,ve 
married  Miss  Jennings,  but  she  preferred  Mr.  Aikin,  and 
became  the  mother  of  Anna  Lsetitia  [Aikin]  Barbauld.  Mr. 
Jennings  had  died  in  1723,  and  his  Academy  was  suspended. 
It  was  revived,  mainly  through  the  influence  of  Dr.  Isaac 
Watts,  and,  April  10,  1729,  put  under  the  care  of  Dodd- 
ridge. Soon  after,  in  addition,  he  became  the  assistant  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Some,  of  Harborough.  This  was  followed 
(September,  1729)  by  a  call  from  the  Castle  Hill  congrega- 
tion at  Northampton.  Thither,  at  the  end  of  three  months, 
he  removed  with  his  school,  and  entered  upon  the  perform- 
ance of  his  life-work. 

He  was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  March  19,  1730 ;  and 
at  the  close  of  the  year,  received  in  marriage.  Miss  Mercy 


204  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Maris,  a  lady  of  superior  qualifications.  They  were  favored 
with  nine  children,  four  only  of  whom,  with  their  mother, 
outlived  the  father.  In  the  indefatigable  discharge  of  his 
duties  as  pastor  and  teacher,  he  passed  more  than  a  score 
of  years,  eminently  useful  and  greatly  honored.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1750,  at  the  funeral  of  his  old  pastor,  Rev.  Dr.  Clark, 
St.  Albans,  he  contracted  a  severe  cold,  which  seized  upon 
his  lungs,  and  issued  in  pulmonary  consumption.  He 
sought  relief  successively  at  London,  at  Shrewsbury,  at 
Bristol,  at  Bath,  but  all  in  vain.  A  purse  of  £400  was 
secured  for  him  by  his  endeared  friend,  the  Countess  of 
Huntingdon,  and,  with  his  beloved  wife,  he  left  in  October, 
1751,  for  Lisbon.  Less  than  two  weeks  after  his  arrival,  he 
passed  away,  October  26th,  in  the  60th  year  of  his  age. 

Doddi'idge  "was  above  the  middle  stature,  extremely 
thin  and  slender,"  but  sprightly  and  vivacious.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  amiable  of  men.  His  manners  were  studi- 
ously polite,  and  his  whole  bearing  exceedingly  courteous. 
Of  a  kind  disposition  and  tender  heart,  he  was  always  say- 
ing and  doing  pleasant  and  agreeable  things,  gaining  thus 
the  good  graces  of  all  who  knew  him.  In  his  abounding 
sympathy,  he  was  ever  ready  to  deny  himself  for  the  good 
of  others.  His  piety  was  pre-eminent.  His  daily  journal 
of  spiritual  exercises,  kept  from  early  life,  everywhere  ex- 
hibits his  extreme  conscientiousness  in  the  discharge  of 
Christian  duty,  and  his  growing  desire  and  endeavor  for 
greater  holiness.  He  was  full  of  zeal  for  the  advancement 
of  religion,  and  especially  for  the  conversion  of  sinners. 
To  this  end,  he  preached,  and  wrote,  and  labored,  to  the  last. 

His  intellectual  attainments,  also,  were  remarkable. 
Blessed  with  an  excellent  memory,  ardent  in  the  pursuit 
of  knowledge,  and  of  inflexible  purpose,  he  made  himself 
familiar  with  the  current  literature  of  the  day,  and  mth 
the  great  masters  in  theology  and  philosophy.  Avaricious, 
not  of  his  earnings  which  he  generously  distributed,  but  of 
every  moment  of  time,  he  wrote  and  published  numerous 
treatises,  sermons,  addresses,  and  weighty  volumes,  mostly 
on  topics  connected  with  his  holy  calling.   He  corresponded 


PHILIP  DODDRIDGE.  205 

continually  with  a  large  number  of  ministerial  and  literary 
acquaintances,  and  often  at  great  length.  He  taught,  more- 
over, about  200  pupils  in  twenty-two  years,  of  whom  about 
120  entered  the  ministry.  At  the  same  time,  he  performed 
the  duties  of  his  parochial  charge  with  exemplary  fidelity, 
preaching  with  frequency  and  power,  and  ever  watching 
for  souls. 

His  literary  proficiency  brought  him,  in  1736,  the  hon- 
orary degree  of  D.D.,  from  the  Marischal  College  of  Aber- 
deen, Scotland.  Three  years  Ikter  (1739),  he  issued  the  first 
volume  of  his  "Family  Expositor,  or  a  Paraphrase  and 
Version  of  the  New  Testament,  with  Critical  Notes,  and  a 
Practical  Improvement  of  each  Section."  The  fifth  and 
sixth  volumes,  published  in  1756,  after  his  death,  completed 
a  work  that  continues,  even  now,  to  be  read  with  interest 
and  profit.  His  most  profound  and  elaborate  work,  "  A 
Course  of  Lectures  on  the  Principal  Subjects  of  Pneuma- 
tology,  Ethics  and  Divinity,  with  References  to  the  most 
considerable  Authors  on  each  Subject,"  was  published 
(1763)  twelve  years  after  his  decease. 

But  the  work  by  which  he  is,  and  ever  must  be,  best 
known,  is  his  eminently  practical  volume,  "  The  Rise  and 
Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul "  (1750).  Thousands  on 
earth  and  in  heaven  can  unite  in  ascriptions  of  praise  to 
God  for  the  benefits  received  from  this  book,  in  their  in- 
quiries for  the  way  of  salvation ;  it  has  led  them  to  the 
cross  of  Christ  for  pardon  and  eternal  life.  It  has  been 
published  in  almost  numberless  editions  in  our  own  lan- 
guage, and  in  the  languages  of  Europe,  Asia,  Afiica,  and 
the  Islands  of  the  Sea.    It  is  one  of  the  few  immortal  books. 

Many  of  Doddridge's  hymns,  also,  are  destined  to  im- 
mortality. Nearly  all  of  them  were  composed  in  con- 
nection with  his  sermons,  to  be  "  lined  out "  and  sung  at 
the  close  of  one  of  his  Sabbath  exercises,  by  his  Chapel- 
Hill  flock.  The  text  of  the  sermon  is  prefixed  to  the 
hymn.  The  sermon  was  soon  forgotten;  but  the  hymn 
was  caught  up,  recorded,  committed  to  memory,  and  often 
reproduced.     "  If  amber,"  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  HamU- 


206  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

ton,  "  is  tlie  gum  of  fossil  trees,  fetched  up  and  floated  off 
by  the  ocean,  hymns  like  these  are  a  spiritual  amber. 
Most  of  the  sermons  to  which  they  originally  pertained 
have  disappeared  forever;  but,  at  once  beautiful  and 
buoyant,  these  sacred  strains  are  destined  to  carry  the  de- 
vout emotions  of  Doddridge  to  every  shore  where  his  Mas- 
ter is  loved,  and  where  his  mother- tongue  is  spoken." 

The  greater  part  of  his  hymns  were  written  between  1735 
and  1740.  They  were  published,  in  1755,  by  his  friend  and 
biographer,  Rev.  Job  Orton,  with  the  title,  "  Hymns  P'ounded 
on  Various  Texts  in  Holy  Scriptures.  By  the  late  P.  Dodd- 
ridge, D.D.  Published  from  the  Author's  Manuscripts,  by 
Job  Orton."  The  book  contains  374  hymns.  Montgomery 
says  of  them  :  "  They  shine  in  the  beauty  of  holiness  ;  these 
oiisprings  of  his  mind  are  arrayed  in  '  the  fine  linen,  pure 
and  white,  which  is  the  righteousness  of  saints ';  and,  like 
the  saints,  they  are  lovely  and  acceptable,  not  for  their 
human  merit  (for  in  poetry  and  eloquence  they  are  fre- 
quently deficient),  but  for  that  fervent,  unafl'ected  love  to 
God,  his  service,  and  his  people,  which  distinguishes  them." 
A  few  of  the  many  that  he  wrote  are  among  the  best  in  our 
books  of  Praise. 

"Lord  of  the  Sabbath!  hear  our  vows,"  etc., 

is  the  first  line  of  a  hymn,  that,  in  most  of  the  modern  Col- 
lections, begins  with  the  second  stanza, 

"Thine  earthly  Sabbaths,  Lord!  we  love,"  etc. 

It  was  composed  to  be  sung,  January  2, 1737,  after  a  sermon 
on  Heb.  iv.  9. 

"  O  God  of  Bethel,  by  whose  hand,"  etc., 

was  written  to  follow  a  sermon  on  "  Jacob's  Vow,"  January 
16, 1737.  In  an  altered  form,  it  is  found  among  "  Logan's 
Poems  "  (1781),  and  so  was  numbered  among  the  "  Transla- 
tions and  Paraphrases  "  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

"Shephei'd  of  Israel!  bend  thine  ear,"  etc., 


PHILIP  DODDRIDGE.  207 

was  composed,  April  10,  1735,  "  at  a  Meeting  of  Ministers 
at  Bedworth,"  Warwickshire,  "  during  their  long  vacancy.'' 

"Let  Zion's  watcliinen  all  awake,"  etc., 

was  composed,  October  21, 1736,  for  an  ordination  at  Floore, 
Northamptonshire. 

"Now,  let  our  moumiiig  hearts  revive,"  etc., 

is  headed,  "  Comfort  in  God  under  the  Removal  of  Minis- 
ters or  other  Useful  Persons  by  Death,"  to  follow  a  sermon, 
August  22, 1736,  on  Joshua  i.  2, 4, 5,  occasioned  by  the  death 
of  a  minister  at  Kettering,  Northamptonshire. 

"Gird  on  thy  conquering  sword,"  etc., 

is  a  hymn  of  five  stanzas,  on  Psalm  xlv.  3, 4,  beginning  with 

"  Loud  to  the  Prince  of  heaven." 

The  plaintive  and  highly  expressive  lament, 

"Arise,  my  tenderest  thoughts!  arise,"  etc., 

was  written  for  a  sermon,  June  10, 1739,  on  "  Beholding 
Transgressors  with  Grief,"  from  Psalm  cxix.  136, 158. 

" Lidulgent  Sovereign  of  the  skies! "  etc., 

was  written  "  For  a  Fast-Day ;  or,  a  Day  of  Prayer  for  the 
Revival  of  Religion,"  to  accompany  a  sermon  on  Isa.  Ixii. 
6,  7.     That  splendid  burst  of  holy  song, — 

"While  on  the  verge  of  life  I  stand,"  etc., 

on  "  The  Happiness  of  departing,  and  being  with  Christ, 
Philippians  i.  23," — was  suggested  by  a  dream  of  entering 
heaven,  and  enjoying  a  beatific  vision  of  the  glorified  Re- 
deemer ;  and  the  dream  was  occasioned  by  a  conversation, 
the  previous  evening,  with  his  old  pastor,  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Clark,  D.D.,  on  the  happiness  of  disembodied  saints. 

These  are,  by  no  means,  his  best  hymns,  but  are  noticed 
because  their  date  or  occasion  is  known.  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson  says :  "  Doddridge  was  author  of  one  of  the  finest 
epigrams  in  the  English  language.     It  is  in  Orton's  Life  of 


208  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

him.  The  subject  is  his  family  motto,—'  Bum  mmmus  m- 
'camus,''  which,  in  its  primary  signification,  is,  to  be  sure, 
not  very  suitable  to  a  Christian  divine ;  but  he  paraphrased 
it  thus : — 

'  Live  while  you  live,  the  Epicure  would  say, 
And  seize  the  pleasures  of  the  present  day : 
Live  ivhile  you  live,  the  sacred  Preacher  cries, 
And  give  to  God  each  moment  as  it  flies : 
Lord !  in  my  views  let  both  united  be, 
I  live  in  pleasure,  when  I  live  to  thee.' " 

In  addition  to  the  publications  already  named,  Doddridge 
issued  a  volume  of  "  Ten  Sermons  on  the  Power  and  Grace 
of  Christ ;  or  Evidences  of  his  glorious  Gospel "  (1736) ; 
"  Eighteen  Practical  Sermons  on  Regeneration ;  to  which 
are  added  two  Sermons  on  Salvation  by  Grace  through 
Faith  "  (1741) ;  "  Of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  in  An- 
swer to  Christianity  not  Founded  on  Argument "  (1742-3) ; 
"  Four  Sermons  on  the  Religious  Education  of  Children " 
(1743) ;  and  "  Some  Remarkable  Passages  in  the  Life  of 
Col.  James  Gardiner"  (1746);  besides  his  "Principles  of  the 
Christian  Religion,  in  Plain  and  Easy  Verse,"  and  many 
Occasional  Sermons.  His  collected  Works  were  published, 
at  Leeds  (1802),  in  ten  volumes ;  and  his  "  Private  Corre- 
spondence and  Diary  "  (1829),  in  five  volumes. 


DAYID  T.  K.  DRUMMOND. 

Mr.  Drummond,  the  youngest  son  of  Mr.  James  Drum- 
mond,  of  Aberuchill,  Perthshire,  was  born  at  Edinburgh, 
Scotland.  He  was  educated  at  Oxford  and  took  orders 
(1830)  in  the  Church  of  England.  For  two  years,  he 
ministered  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bristol.  In  1832, 
he  became  one  of  the  ministers  of  Trinity  Chapel,  Dean 
Bi'idge,  Edinburgh,  in  connection  with  the  Scottish  Epis- 


DAVID  T.  K.  DRUMMOND.  209 

copal  Churcli.  Evangelical  in  his  sympathies,  he  took  an 
active  part  in  the  promotion  of  Sunday- Schools,  Missions, 
the  publication  and  circulation  of  Religious  Tracts,  and 
every  other  good  work.  He  devoted  himselJ  to  the  spirit- 
ual welfare  of  his  flock,  and  sought  most  earnestly  the  con- 
version of  souls.  He  procured  the  use  of  Clyde  Street  Hall, 
and  conducted  there  a  weeldy  prayer-meeting,  during  the 
winter  season,  with  extemporaneous  prayer,  discarding  the 
use  of  the  Scotch  Liturgy.  A  weekly  Bible  Class  for  young 
men  was  conducted  in  the  same  manner.  He  fraternized, 
also,  with  the  city  clergy  of  the  Establishment  (Presbyte- 
rian) in  addressing  public  religious  meetings.  He  proved 
himself  a  true  gospel  preacher. 

For  his  freedom  in  these  respects,  he  received  (October  3, 
1842)  an  admonition  from  his  diocesan,  Rt.  Rev,  Charles 
Hughes  Terrot,  the  Episcopal  Bishop  of  Edinburgh.  At 
the  close  of  a  long  correspondence,  Mr.  Drummond  resigned 
his  charge,  the  same  month ;  and,  withdrawing  from  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  announced  his  determination 
to  continue  to  minister  in  Edinburgh  as  a  minister  of  the 
Church  of  England.  He  was  sustained  by  a  large  number 
of  his  former  flock,  who,  also,  withdrew,  and  organized,  in 
November  following,  St.  Thomas'  Episcopal  Church,  of 
which  he  became  the  pastor. 

Mr.  Drummond  greatly  commended  himself  for  his  re- 
ligious zeal  and  catholic  principles.  Among  other  works, 
he  published,  "Episcopacy  in  Scotland  in  1845,"  "Last 
Scenes  in  the  Life  of  Christ,"  and  "  Memoirs  of  Montagu 
Stanley  "  (1848).  Of  his  hymn  on  "  God  is  Love,"  the  first 
three  stanzas  are  here  given : 

' '  What  is  the  Lord  ?    Siirvey  the  world,— 

Each  hill,  each  vale,  each  stream,  each  grove; 
From  every  rock,  and  field,  and  tree, 
A  voice  replies,  that '  God  is  love. ' 

' '  What  is  the  Lord  ?    Gaze  through  the  skies,— 
On  yon  bright  orbs  which  ceaseless  move 
Tn  glorious  maze — still,  as  they  roll. 
They  chant  the  song,  that '  God  is  love.' 
14 


210  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Wliat  is  the  Lord  ?    Look  to  the  place 
Where  glory  sits  enthroned  above ; 
Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  there 
Cry,  with  one  voice,  that '  God  is  love.' " 


JOHN  DEYDEN. 
1631-1700. 

Small  claim  lias  Dryden,  eminent  as  he  was  in  his  day, 
to  be  classed  among  tlie  hymnists  of  the  Church.  His 
poetic  talent,  dnring  the  larger  part  of  his  literary  career, 
was  prostituted  to  the  encouragement  of  the  fashionable 
vices  of  the  day.  A  large  part  of  his  dramatic  poetry  is 
unfit  to  be  read.  He  was  too  much  of  a  courtier  to  think 
of  stemming  the  flood  of  licentiousness  that  poured  over 
England  in  the  days  of  the  Restoration. 

His  father,  Erasmus  Driden  (the  poet  substituted  "y"), 
was  a  strict  Puritan,  of  an  ancient  family,  residing  at  Ald- 
winckle,  Northamptonshire,  where,  August  9,  1631,  John, 
the  eldest  of  fourteen  children,  was  born.  A  baronetcy  had 
been  conferred,  by  James  I.,  on  his  grandfather,  Erasmus. 
The  boy,  at  an  early  age,  became  the  pupil  of  the  celebra- 
ted Dr.  Richard  Busby,  Head  Master  of  Westminster 
School,  London,  giving  evidence,  while  there,  of  his  talent 
for  versification.  Entering  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  in 
1650,  he  graduated,  A.B.,  in  1654,  and  A.M.,  in  1657.  His 
Idnsman,  Sir  Gilbert  Pickering,  of  Cromwell's  council,  pro- 
cured for  him  a  petty  clerkship  in  London.  At  the  death 
of  Cromwell,  in  1658,  he  wrote,  in  celebration  of  tlie  great 
Protector,  his  vigorous  "  Heroic  Stanzas." 

Like  the  famous  "Yicar  of  Bray,"  his  devotions  were 
paid  to  "  the  rising  sun."  The  Restoration  of  the  dissolute 
Charles  II.  (1660)  was  hailed  with  his  congratulatory  "  As- 
trsea  Redux,"  and  his  coronation  (1661)  with  a  "  Panegyrick." 


JOHN  DRYDEN.  211 

He  was  chosen  (November,  1662)  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Society.  He  now  began  to  write  for  the  stage,  and  com- 
posed (1662-1694),  in  whole  or  in  part,  twenty-seven  dramas. 
In  November,  1663,  he  married  the  Lady  Elizabeth,  a 
sister  of  Sir  Robert  Howard  (his  early  patron),  and  the 
eldest  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Berkshire,— an  event  that 
added  but  little  to  his  domestic  comfort.  At  Charlton,  the 
Earl's  seat  in  Wiltshire,  he  wrote  (1667)  his  "Annus  Mira- 
bilis  "-  an  Account  of  the  "  Great  Fire  "  and  other  wonders  of 
1666.  His  "  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesy  "  came  out  the  same 
year.  "  Rare  Sir  William  "  Davenant,  died  April  7, 1668 ; 
and  Dryden,  having  already  been  acknowledged  as  the  first 
dramatist  of  the  day,  succeeded  him  as  Poet  Laureate.  He 
was  also  appointed  Royal  Historiographer.  Each  of  the 
two  offices  brought  him  annuaUy  £100.  His  plays  occupied 
him  the  next  twelve  years. 

He  now  entered  upon  a  new  literary  career.  His  style 
was  purer,  his  verse  more  natural,  his  thought  more  ele- 
vated and  vigorous.  His  "  Absalom  and  Achitophel,"  a  most 
successful  political  satire,  appeared  in  1681,  and  his  "  Reli- 
gio  Laici,"  a  defence  of  the  Church  against  Deists,  Papists, 
and  Presbyterians,  in  1682.  A  royal  pension  of  £100  was 
granted  him  in  1684.  On  the  accession  of  James  II.,  he 
once  more  changed  his  creed,  and,  early  in  1686,  avowed 
himself  a  Roman  CathoUc.  His  "  Hind  and  Panther  "  was 
written  (1687)  to  defend  the  Papacy. 

The  Revolution  (1688)  deprived  him  of  his  places  and 
pension  He  now  gave  himself  to  the  work  of  translating 
the  Latin  poets.  His  "  Juvenal "  and  "  Persius  "  appeared 
in  1693,  and  his  "  Yirgil,"  in  1697.  The  latter  brought  him 
£1  200  His  "  Fables,"  and  his  "  Alexander's  Feast :  or  The 
Power  of  Music.  An  Ode,  in  Honor  of  St.  Cecilia's  Day  " 
(probably  his  last,  and  certainly  his  most  brilliant,  work), 
a])peared  in  1700.  His  health  gave  way,  and  May  1, 170(3, 
he  died  of  an  inflammation  of  one  of  his  toes,  resulting  m 
the  mortification  of  his  leg.  He  was  honored  with  a  grave 
in  Westminster  Abbey. 
He  was  associated,  in  his  later  years,  with  Nahum  late, 


212  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

in  the  production  of  some  of  Tate's  poems;  and  it  may 
have  been  at  the  suggestion  of  the  princiiDal  author  of  the 
"  JS'ew  Version  of  the  Psalms,"  that  Dryden  wrote  the  hymn, 

"  Creator  Spirit!  by  whose  aid,"  etc. 

It  is  a  version,  spirited  and  elegant,  of  the  celebrated 
"  Veni,  Creator  Spiritus ! "  of  Rabanus  Maurus,  a  Latin 
poet  of  the  ninth  century.  The  version  of  the  "  Te  Deum," 
in  the  British  Wesleyan  Collection  (Hymns  564,  565,  566), 
generally  credited  to  Dryden,  is  not  his,  but  Charles  Wes- 
ley's.   Dryden's  version  is  in  heroic  verse,  and  begins  with 

"Thee,  sovereign  God!  our  grateful  accents  praise, 
We  own  thee  Lord,  and  bless  thy  wondrous  ways." 

The  following  stanzas  are  commemorative  of  the  Pro- 
tector, Oliver  Cromwell : 

"  His  grandeur  he  derived  from  Heaven  alone; 
For  he  was  great,  ere  fortune  made  him  so : 
And  wars,  like  mists  that  rise  against  the  sun, 
Made  him  but  greater  seem,  not  greater  grow. 

' '  No  borrowed  bays  his  temples  did  adorn. 
But  to  our  cr-own  he  did  fresh  jewels  bring ; 
Nor  was  his  virtue  poisoned,  soon  as  born, 
With  the  too  early  thoughts  of  being  king. 

"  Nor  died  he  when  his  ebbing  fame  went  less. 
But  when  fresh  laurels  courted  him  to  live ; 
He  seemed  but  to  prevent  some  new  success, 
As  if  above  what  triumphs  earth  could  give. 

"His  ashes  in  a  peacefid  urn  shall  rest; 

His  name  a  great  example  stands,  to  show 
How  strangely  high  endeavors  may  be  blessed, 
Where  piety  and  valor  jointly  go." 


GEORGE  DUFFIELD.  213 

GEORGE   DUFFIELD. 

1818 . 

Geoege  Duffield  bears  an  honored  name.  His  father 
and  great-grandfather,  each  of  them  a  George,  distinguished 
themselves  both  as  citizens  and  as  ministers  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  The  great-grandfather  (1732-1790),  the  son 
of  George,  was  a  zealous  and  faithful  patriot  during  the 
Revolutionary  War,  a  Chaplain  of  the  Old  Congress,  and 
a  pastor,  for  seventeen  years,  of  the  Third  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Philadelphia.  The  father  (1794-1868)  was  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most  able  and  useful  ministers  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  having  been  settled  in  the  pastorate, 
successively,  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  Philadelphia,  New  York  City, 
and  Detroit,  Mich.  The  mother,  Isabella  Graham  Bethune, 
was  the  daughter  of  Divie  Bethune,  Esq.,  of  New  York 
City.  Their  son,  George,  was  born,  September  12, 1818,  at 
Carlisle,  Pa. ,  the  home  of  his  youth. 

After  a  careful  preparation,  he  entered  Yale  College,  in 
1833.  and  graduated  in  1837.  Having  become  a  member  of 
the  Bleecker  St.  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York,  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  Erskine  Mason,  D.D.,  he 
entered  Union  Theological  Seminary,  N.  Y.  (1837),  and 
completed  (1840)  a  three-years'  course  of  theology.  Shortly 
after  he  married  Miss  Augusta,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  A. 
Willoughby,  Esq.,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  took  the  pas- 
toral charge  of  the  Fifth  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  city. 
He  was  ordained,  December  27, 1840. 

At  the  end  of  seven  years,  he  became  the  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Bloomfield,  N.  J. ;  five  years 
later,  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and,  for  nearly  nine 
years,  had  charge  of  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church  of 
the  Northern  Liberties ;  the  next  four  years  found  him  in 
charge  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Adrian,  Mich. ; 
another  period  of  four  years  was  passed  as  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Galesburgh,  111. ;  four  years 


214  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

more  were  spent  in  charge  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Saginaw  City,  Mich. ;  at  the  close  of  which  period,  he  re- 
tired from  the  pastoral  work,  on  account  of  the  failure  of 
his  health,  and  removed  to  Ann- Arbor,  Mich.,  where  his 
son,  Samuel  Willoughby  Duffield,  was  then  settled,  as  pas- 
tor of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  town.  He  received 
the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  in  1871,  from  Knox  College, 
Galesburgh,  111. 

Dr.  Duffield  has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  the 
periodical  press,  and  is  the  author  of  several  pamphlets ; 
but  is  chiefly  known  in  literature  as  the  author  of  several 
excellent  hymns  and  other  poetic  effusions.     The  hymn, 

"Blessed  Saviour  !  thee  I  love,"  etc., 

was  contributed  by  him  to  the  "Supplement"  of  the 
"  Church  Psalmist,"  Philadelphia,  1859.  The  very  popular 
hymn, 

"  Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus,"  etc., 

was  suggested  by  the  last  words  of  the  Rev.  Dudley  A.  Tyng, 
Rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Epiphany,  Phila.,  who  died, 
in  the  prime  of  his  youth,  April  19,  1858 :— "  Tell  them  to 
stand  up  for  Jesus  ;  now  let  us  sing  a  hymn  !  "  The  fifth 
line  of  the  second  stanza  aUudes  to  a  sermon,  preached  by 
Mr.  Tyng,  in  Philadelphia,  from  the  Text,  Ex.  x.  11,—"  Go 
now,  ye  that  are  men,  and  serve  the  Lord  ": — "  the  most 
powerful  sermon,"  says  Dr.  Dufiield,  "  in  modern  times,  so 
far  as  I  know ;  when  the  slain  of  the  Lord  were  many, — 
probably  a  thousand  at  least."  The  2d  and  5th  stanzas  of 
the  original,  not  generally  found  in  the  Collections,  are  here 
supplied : 

"Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus; 
The  solemn  watchword  hear — 
If,  while  ye  sleep,  he  suffers, 

Away  with  shame  and  fear; 
Where'er  ye  meet  with  evil, 

Within  you  or  without, 
Charge  for  the  God  of  battles, 
And  put  the  foe  to  rout. 


ROBINSON  POTTER  DUNN.  215 

"  Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus; 

Each  soldier  to  his  post ; 
Close  up  the  broken  column, 

And  shout  through  all  the  host; 
Make  good  the  loss  so  heavy 

In  those  that  still  remain, 
And  prove,  to  all  around  you. 

That  death  itseK  is  gain." 


KOBINSON  POTTER  DUNN. 

1825-1867. 

Prof.  Dunn  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Theopliilus  Dunn  and 

Elizabeth  Robinson  Potter,  of  Newport,  Rhode    Island, 

where  he  was  born,  May  31, 1825.    His  early  education  was 

strictly  private.     Entering  Brown  University,  Providence, 

R  I    in  his  fifteenth  year,  he  graduated  (1843)  as  the  first 

scholar  of  his  class.    He  served  (1844-1846)  the  University, 

as  teacher  of  French,  and  as  Ubrarian.     He  entered  the 

Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  continued 

his  studies  for  the  ministiy  for  two  years.     In  April,  1847, 

he  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick; 

and,  November  1, 1848,  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of 

West- Jersey,  as  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 

Camden,  N.  J.     He  was  married,  in  September  preceding, 

to  Maria,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Mr.  John  StiUe,  of 

Philadelphia.     She  died  in  1849. 

In  April,  1851,  he  accepted  the  chair  of  Rhetoric  and 
Eno-lish  Literature  in  Brown  University.  In  January,  1855, 
he  married  Mary  Stiles,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Hon.  A. 
Dwio-ht  Foster,  of  Worcester,  Mass.  In  1864,  the  Univer- 
sity honored  him  with  the  degree  of  D.D.  While  pass- 
ing  his  vacation  with  his  parents  at  Newport,  he  was  taken 
ill  with  erysipelas,  and,  on  the  sixth  day,  August  28, 1867 
he  died,  in  his  forty-third  year. 


216  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

He  was  a  fine  scliolar,  and  an  admirable  teacher.  His 
piety  was  eminently  pure  and  practical.  He  wrote  for  the 
Princeton  Review  and  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra;  and  just 
before  the  time  of  his  decease,  was  occupied  in  translating 
and  editing  one  of  the  volumes  of  Lange's  Commentary. 
He  wrote  versions,  also,  of  several  German  and  Latin 
hymns.  The  following  stanzas  are  from  his  version  of  the 
German  hymn, — "  Nein,  nein,  das  ist  kein  sterben,"  by  A. 
Knapp,  from  the  French  of  Caesar  Malan : 

"No,  no,  it  is  not  dying, 

To  go  unto  our  God, 
This  gloomy  earth  forsaking, 
Our  journey  homeward  taking 

Along  the  stany  road. 

"  No,  no,  it  is  not  dying, 

Heaven's  citizen  to  be ; 
A  crown  immortal  wearing, 
And  rest  unbroken  sharing. 

From  cai'e  and  conflict  free. 

"  No,  no,  it  is  not  dying, 

To  hear  this  gi'acious  word, — 
*  Receive  a  Father's  blessing. 
For  evermore  possessing 
The  favor  of  thy  Lord  ' '" 


TIMOTHY  DWIGHT. 

1752-1817. 

Timothy  Dwight,  D.B.,  LL.D.,  came  from  a  good  stock 
— ^the  real  aristocracy  of  New  England.  He  was  a  descend- 
ant, in  the  eldest  male  line,  of  John  Dwight,  of  Dedham, 
England,  who  emigrated  (1637)  to  Dedham,  Mass.  Each 
of  his  American  progenitors  was  of  good  repute  for  piety. 
His  father,  whose  name  he  bore,  was  a  graduate  of  Yale 
College  (1744),  and  a  man  of  large  proportions  and  great 


TIMOTSra"  DWIGHT.  217 

strength.  He  resided  at  Northampton,  Mass.,  engaged  in 
trade  and  agriculture,  and  had  a  good  landed  estate.  ,  He 
was  highly  esteemed  as  a  man  of  vigorous  intellect,  of  pure 
morality,  and  of  fervent  piety.  His  wife,  Mary,  whom  he 
married  in  her  seventeenth  year  (November  8,  1750),  was 
the  fourth  child  of  his  honored  pastor  and  adjoining  neigh- 
bor. Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards.  In  maturity  of  mind,  and  in 
the  extent  and  variety  of  her  attainments,  she  was  very  far 
in  advance  of  her  years. 

The  son  was  born.  May  14, 1752,  at  Northampton.  In  his 
seventh  and  eighth  years,  he  attended  a  grammar-school. 
With  this  exception,  he  was  educated  by  his  mother  until 
his  twelfth  year,  when,  for  a  year  or  more,  he  studied  with 
the  Rev.  Enoch  Huntington,  at  Middletown,  Conn.  At 
four,  he  read  with  ease  and  correctness,  and  at  eight,  was 
fitted  for  college.  He  entered  Yale  College  at  thirteen,  and 
graduated  in  1769,  second  to  none  in  his  class.  His  pas- 
sion and  talent  for  music  and  poetry  were  favorably  devel- 
oped while  in  college. 

He  taught  a  grammar-school  in  New  Haven  for  two 
years,  and  was  a  tutor  in  the  College  for  six  years  (1771- 
1777).  His  "  Conquest  of  Canaan  "  was  completed  in  1774, 
though  not  published  until  1785.  His  application  to  study, 
at  this  period,  was  intense.  On  his  recovery  from  small- 
pox, for  which  he  had  been  inoculated,  his  eyes  became  so 
seriously  injured,  by  resuming  his  studies  too  soon,  that, 
"  during  the  great  part  of  forty  years,  he  was  not  able  to 
read  fifteen  minutes  in  the  twenty -four  hours  ;  and  often, 
for  days  and  weeks  together,  the  pain  which  he  endured 
in  that  part  of  the  head  immediately  behind  the  eyes 
amounted  to  anguish." 

His  Master's  Oration  (1772),  "  A  Dissertation  on  the  His- 
tory, Eloquence,  and  Poetry  of  the  Bible,"  was  published, 
not  only  in  America,  but  also  in  England.  In  the  summer 
and  autumn  of  1774,  he  was  almost  at  death's  door.  The 
same  year  he  became  a  member  of  the  College  Church.  He 
married  (March,  1777)  Miss  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Benjamin 
VVoolsey  (of  Long  Island),  his  father's  room-mate  in  col- 


218  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

lege.  In  June  of  the  same  year,  lie  was  licensed  to  preach; 
and,  during  the  summer,  supplied  the  pulpit  at  Kensington, 
Conn.  In  October,  he  repaired  to  West  Point,  N.  Y.,  aa 
chaplain  of  Parsons'  brigade  in  Putnam's  division  of  the 
Revolutionary  Army.  Full  of  patriotic  ardor,  he  now 
wrote  and  published  that  glowing  ode, 

"  Columbia!  Columbia!  to  glory  arise, 
The  queen  of  the  world,  and  the  child  of  the  skies,"  etc., 

and  other  martial  songs. 

His  father  died  at  Natchez,  Miss.,  the  same  year;  but 
months  elapsed  before  the  knowledge  of  it  reached  the 
family.  He  resigned  his  chaplaincy  in  October,  1778,  and 
repaired  to  Northampton,  Mass.,  to  settle  the  estate,  and 
to  care  for  his  wddowed  mother  and  her  thirteen  children. 
For  five  years  (1778-1783)  he  took  care  of  the  farm ;  taught 
a  large  school ;  preached  statedly  in  some  of  the  adjacent 
parishes;  took  part  in  civic  affairs;  served,  part  of  the 
time,  in  the  Legislature  ;  and  developed  an  almost  incred- 
ible energy. 

In  July,  1783,  he  took  charge  of  the  Greenfield  Congre- 
gational Church,  in  the  town  of  Fairfield,  Conn.,  was  or- 
dained pastor,  November  5,  and  opened  an  Academy,  which 
speedily  acquired  a  high  reputation.  A  thousand  pupils, 
from  every  part  of  the  United  States,  resorted  to  it  within 
the  next  twelve  years.  He  published  (1788)  his  "  Triumph 
of  Infidelity,  a  Poem"  (anonymously);  and  (1794)  his 
«  Greenfield  HiU,  a  Poem,  in  7  Parts."  In  1787,  the  honor- 
ary degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  on  him  by  the  CoUege  of 
New  Jersey. 

He  was  chosen,  at  the  decease  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Ezra 
Stiles  (May  12, 1795),  to  succeed  him  as  President  of  Yale 
College,  and  in  September  was  duly  inaugurated.  His  ac- 
cession was  the  beginning  of  a  new  and  brilliant  era  for  the 
College.  Students  resorted  to  it  from  all  quarters  ;  order 
and  system  were  introduced  into  every  department ;  the 
prevalent  scepticism  was  uprooted ;  and  the  standard  of 
scholarship  greatly  elevated.     In  addition  to  his  ordinary 


TIMOTHY  DWIGHT.  219 

duties,  he  served  as  Professor  of  Belles-Lettres  and  Ora- 
tory,  and  in  1805  was  appointed  Professor  of  Theology. 
He  was  virtually  the  pastor  of  the  College  Church,  and 
regularly  occupied  the  pulpit  of  the  chapel  twice  every 
Sabbath.      It  was  for  this  sei-vice  that  he  prepared  his 
"Theology  Explained  and  Defended,  in  a  Series  of  Ser- 
mons," published  (1828)  in  five  volumes.      The  honorary 
degree  of  LL.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  (1810)  by  Har- 
vard CoUege.  ,r     1    „        V. 
His  "Travels  in  New  England  and  New  York,     pub- 
lished (1822)  in  four  volumes,  grew  out  of  his  vacation 
journeys,  undertaken  yearly  during  his  Presidency,  and 
prosecuted  by  private  conveyances ;  a  minute  Journal  of 
what  he  saw  and  heard  having  been  kept  and  carefully 
preserved.     They  are  an  invaluable  record  of  facts  concern- 
ing the  men,  the  scenery,  the  occurrences,  and  the  institu- 
tions, as  well  as  the  manners  and  customs,  of  the  period. 

At  the  request  of  the  General  Association  of  Connecticut, 
June,  1797,  Dr.  Dwight  undertook  "to  revise  Dr.  Watts' 
Imitation  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  so  as  to  accommodate 
them  to  the  state  of  the  American  Churches  ;  and  to  sup- 
ply the  deficiency  of  those  Psalms  which  Dr.  Watts  had 
omitted."    The  work  was  completed  in  1799,  reported  to 
the  General  Association  in  June,  and  referred  to  a  Joint 
Committee  of  the  Association'  and  the  Presb^i;enan  Gen- 
eral Assembly.     This  Committee  met  at  Stamford,  Conn., 
June  10,  1800,  and,  after  a  careful  examination,  approved 
the  work,  and  recommended  it  to  the  churches.     The  Pres- 
byterian Assembly  of  1802,  also  approved  the  work,  and 
"cheerfully  allowed"   it  to   be  used  in  their  churches. 
Thus  it  was,  that,  for  nearly  thirty  years,  Dwight's  Psalm 
and  HjTun  Book,  conjointly  with  Dr.  Watts'  Psalms  and 
Hymns,  was  regarded  as  a  Presbji:erian  Book  of  Praise.  ^ 

The  book  was  published  in  two  Parts :  the  first,  contain- 
ino-  "  the  Psalms  of  David,  by  I.  Watts,  D.D.  A  New  Edi- 
tion, in  which  the  Psalms  omitted  by  Dr.  Watts  are  versi- 
fied,' local  passages  are  altered,  and  a  number  of  Psalms 
are  versified  anew  in  proper  Metres.     By  Timothy  Dwight 


220  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

D.D."  Thirty- three  of  the  versions  are  Dwight's.  The 
second  Part  is  entitled,  "  Hymns  selected  from  Dr.  Watts, 
Dr.  Doddridge,  and  various  other  Writers,  according  to 
the  Recommendation  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  Gen- 
eral Association  of  Connecticut  and  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  America.  By  Timothy 
D wight,  D.D."  The  Selection  contains  263  hymns,  and 
the  authors'  names,  so  far  as  known,  are  prefixed  to  each. 
His  version  of  the  137th  Psalm,  in  S.  M.,  has  acquired 
great  popularity : 

' '  I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord, 

The  house  of  thine  abode,"  etc. 

Besides  the  publications  already  named,  he  gave  to  the 
press  a  large  number  of  occasional  Sermons,  conspicuous 
among  which  were  "  Two  Sennons  on  the  JN'ature  and  Dan- 
ger of  Infidel  Philosophy,"  1799.  Two  volumes  of  his  Ser- 
mons were  pubKshed,  posthumously,  in  1828.  During  the 
greater  part  of  his  public  life,  he  was  obliged  to  employ  an 
amanuensis,  one  or  more,  selected  generally  from  the  Sen- 
ior class  of  collegians. 

In  the  midst  of  his  great  activity  and  usefulness,  hon- 
ored and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him,  he  was  seized  with 
an  acute  disorder,  February,  1816,  which  at  length,  after 
subjecting  him  to  periods  of  great  suffering,  resulted,  Jan- 
uary 11,  1817,  in  his  death,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years. 
His  removal  was  universally  regarded  as  a  great  public 
calamity. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague,  who  was  one  of  his  pupils,  speaks 
of  his  form  "  as  stately  and  majestic,  and  every  way  well- 
proportioned.  His  features  were  regular,  his  eye  black  and 
piercing,  yet  benignant,  and  his  countenance  altogether  in- 
dicative of  a  high  order  of  mind.  His  voice  was  rich  and 
melodious,  adapted  alike  to  music  and  oratory." 

"  He  was  unquestionably,  at  that  time  "  (1809),  says  the 
Hon.  S.  G.  Goodrich,  "  the  most  conspicuous  man  in  New 
England,  filling  a  larger  space  in  the  public  eye,  and  exerting 
a  greater  influence,  than  anv  other  individual.  ...      In 


TIMOTHY  DWIGHT.  221 

person,  lie  was  about  six  feet  in  height,  and  of  a  full,  round, 

manly  form His  voice  was  one  of  the  finest  I  ever 

have  heard  from  the  pulpit — clear,  hearty,  sympathetic,  and 
entering  into  the  soul  like  the  middle  notes  of  an  organ." 
He  "  was,  perhaps,  even  more  distinguished  in  conversation 
than  in  the  pulpit.  He  was,  indeed,  regarded  as  without 
a  rival  in  this  respect ;  his  knowledge  was  extensive  and 
various,  and  his  language  eloquent,  rich,  and  flowing. 
....  In  society,  the  imj)osing  grandeur  of  his  personal 
appearance  in  the  pulpit,  was  softened  by  a  general  bland- 
ness  of  expression  and  a  sedulous  courtesy  of  manner, 
which  were  always  conciliating,  and  sometimes  really  cap- 
tivating. His  smile  was  irresistible He  was  re- 
garded with  a  species  of  idolatry  by  those  around  him. 
Even  the  pupils  of  the  college  almost  adored  him."  He 
was,  in  the  highest  and  best  sense,  one  of  the  very  first 
men  of  the  age — the  peer  of  the  greatest. 

As  a  specimen  of  his  poetic  powers  in  youth,  the  follow- 
ing description  of  Night,  from  his  "  Conquest  of  Canaan," 
is  here  given : 

"Now  Night,  in  vestments  robed  of  cloudy  dye, 
With  sable  grandeur  clothed  the  orient  sky, 
Impelled  the  sun,  obsequious  to  her  reign, 
Down  the  far  mountains  to  the  western  main ; 
With  magic  hand,  becalmed  the  solemn  even. 
And  drew  day's  curtain  from  the  spangled  heaven. 
At  once  the  planets  sailed  around  the  throne ; 
At  once  ten  thousand  worlds  in  splendor  shone ; 
Behind  her  car,  the  moon's  expanded  eye 
Rose  from  a  cloud,  and  looked  around  the  sky ; 
Far  up  th'  immense  her  train  sublimely  roll. 
And  dance,  and  triumph,  roimd  the  lucid  pole. 
Faint  shine  the  fields,  beneath  the  shadowy  ray ; 
Slow  fades  the  glimmering  of  the  west  away; 
To  sleep  the  tribes  retire ;  and  not  a  sound 
Flows  through  the  air,  or  murmurs  on  the  ground." 


222  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


JOHN  EAST. 

JoHisr  East  was  a  clergyman  of  the  Chnrcli  of  England. 
Among  Ms  publications  were :  a  "Sermon"  (1819);  "Sab- 
bath Meditations  in  Prose  and  Verse,"  in  two  volumes 
(1826, 1827) ;  " The  Happy  Moment"  (1835) ;  and  "My  Sav- 
iour,"— a  volume  published  in  England  (1836),  and  repub- 
lished shortly  after  at  Boston,  Mass.,  in  which  is  found  the 
hymn, 

"  There  is  a  fold,  whence  none  can  stray,"  etc. 

He  was,  in  1828,  preferred  to  the  Rectorship  of  Croscome, 
Somersetshire ;  and,  in  1841,  was  one  of  the  curates  of  St. 
Michael's  Church,  Bath.  He  sympathized  with  the  Evan- 
gelical clergy,  and  frequently  appeared,  at  public  meetings, 
as  an  advocate  of  the  cause  of  Missions. 


JAMES  WALLIS  EASTBURN. 

1797-1819. 

This  lovely  and  highly-gifted  youth  was  an  elder  brother 
of  the  late  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Manton  Eastburn,  of  Boston,  Mass. 
He  was  the  son  of  James  and  Charlotte  Eastburn,  of  London, 
England,  where  he  was  born,  September  26, 1797.  The  fam- 
ily emigrated,  in  1803,  to  the  City  of  New  York,  and  there  his 
father  became  first  a  merchant,  and  then  a  bookseller  and 
publisher  of  wide  repute.  The  son  was  a  pupil  successively 
of  Mr.  Malcolm  Campbell,  Rev.  Edmund  D.  Barry,  D.D., 
the  New  York  Grammar  School,  and  Rev.  Thomas  T.  War- 
ner. He  entered  Union  College,  in  1812,  but,  the  following 
year,  was  transferred  to  Columbia  College,  graduating,  with 
a  high  reputation  for  scholarship,  in  1816. 

About  the  time  of  his  graduation  he  became  a  commu- 
nicant in  St.  George's  Church,  New  York,  of  which  Dr. 
James  Milnor  had  just  become  the  Rector.     Having  de- 


JAMES  WALLIS  EASTBURN.  223 

voted  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  he  pursued 
his  studies  at  Bristol,  R.  I.,  under  the  instruction  of 
Bishop  A.  V.  Griswold.  Under  the  faithful  ministry  of 
this  godly  divine,  he  grew  rapidly  in  spiritual  life,  and 
entered  most  fully  upon  a  career  of  Christian  usefulness. 
He  was  ordained  a  deacon,  Oct.  20, 1818,  in  Trinity  Church, 
New  York,  by  Bishop  Hobart.  He  now  became  the  Rector 
of  St.  George's,  Accomack  Co.,  Eastern  Shore,  Va.  After 
a  brief  and  most  successful  service  of  eight  months,  during 
which  he  won  the  high  esteem  and  ardent  love  of  his  parish, 
he  was  compelled,  by  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  to  relinquish 
his  charge,  and  to  return,  July,  1819,  to  his  father's  house 
in  New  York.  Consumption  speedily  reduced  his  remain- 
ing strength,  and,  four  days  after  embarking  with  his 
mother  and  brother  Manton  for  Santa  Cruz,  terminated  his 
mortal  life,  Decembei:  2, 1819.  His  remains  were  committed 
to  the  deep. 

Short  as  was  his  life  (22  years),  Mr.  Eastburn  had  acquired 
an  enviable  literary  reputation.  At  the  age  of  sixteen, 
his  second  year  in  college,  he  was  associated  with  Robert 
Charles  Sands,  his  bosom-friend  thenceforward,  in  conduct- 
ing a  periodical,  called  The  Moralist.  At  eighteen,  he 
composed  his  hymn  for  Trinity  Sunday, 

"  O  holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  ! "  etc., 

which,  in  1826,  was  included  in  the  Collection  attached  to 
the  (U.  S.)  "Book  of  Common  Prayer."  During  his  resi- 
dence near  Mount  Hope,  Bristol,  formerly  the  home  of 
Philip,  the  renowned  Sachem  of  the  Pequods,  he  became 
so  fascinated  with  the  romantic  story  of  the  Indian  King, 
that,  in  company  with  Sands,  he  began,  November,  1817,  to 
write  a  poetic  history  of  the  tribe.  His  part  of  the  work 
was  completed  in  the  summer  of  1818.  The  poem  was  fin- 
ished and  published,  in  1820,  by  Sands,  with  a  touching 
Poem,  commemorative  of  Eastburn. 

His  literary  "  remains,"  says  his  brother,  "  are  amazingly 
voluminous.  .  .  .  His  prose  writings  .  .  .  take  in  an  ex- 
tensive range  of  moral  and  classical  disquisition,  and  are 


224  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

models  of  the  purest  Addisonian  English.  .  .  .  Whatever 
be  the  subject  .  .  .  the  pages  are  indited  with  a  pen  dipped 
in  the  dew  of  heaven." 

After  a  glorious  night,  in  June,  1819,  spent,  until  after 
midnight,  beneath  the  open  expanse  of  heaven,  on  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia,  he  penned  that  beautiful  piece 
of  six  double  stanzas,  called  "  The  Summer  Midnight,"  of 
which  the  following  are  the  first  and  last  stanzas : 

"The  breeze  of  night  has  sunk  to  rest, 
Upon  the  river's  tranquil  breast, 
Ajid  every  bird  has  sought  her  nest. 

Where  silent  is  her  minstrelsy ; 
The  queen  of  heaven  is  sailing  high, — 
A  pale  bark  on  the  azure  sky. 
Where  not  a  breath  is  heard  to  sigh,  — 

So  deep  the  soft  tranquillity.  • 

"There  is  an  hour  of  deep  repose. 
That  yet  upon  my  heart  shall  close. 
When  all  that  nature  dreads,  and  knows, 

Shall  burst  upon  me  wondrously ; 
Oh  1  may  I  then  awake  forever 
My  harp  to  rapture's  high  endeavor. 
And,  as  from  earth's  vain  scene  I  sever, 

Be  lost  in  immortality." 


JAMES  EDMESTON. 

1791-1867. 

Two  thousand  hymns,  or  nearly  that  number,  are  attrib- 
uted to  Mr.  Edmeston, — some  of  them  very  sweet  and  beau- 
tiful, though  none  of  them  are  of  the  highest  order  of 
poetry.  His  mother,  Hannah  Brewer  (1759-1833),  was  the 
third  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Brewer  (1723-1796),  of 
Stepney,  London,  and  Miss  Woolmer,  of  Wapping,  Lon- 
don. She  was,  for  fifty-eight  years,  a  consistent  and  godly 
member  of  the  Congregational  Church  of  Stepney,  of  which 


JAMES  EDMESTON.  225 

her  honored  father  was,  for  almost  fifty  years,  the  highly 
useful  pastor.  She  was  married  to  Mr.  Edmestou,  of  Wap- 
ping,  in  1789,  and  her  second  child,  James,  was  born  there, 
September  10, 1791. 

The  first  twelve  years  of  his  life  were  spent  at  Wapping, 
But,  in  1803,  the  family  removed  to  Hackney  ;  and  there  his 
education  was  completed.  Four  years  later  (1807)  he  was 
articled  to  a  surveyor  and  architect,  continuing  in  the  ofllce 
nine  years,  when,  at  twenty-five  years  of  age,  he  entered  into 
the  business  on  his  own  account.  In  .1822,  he  removed  to 
Homerton,  where  he  continued  to  reside  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  Tliough  educated  a  Dissenter,  he  early  acquired  a 
liking  for  the  Church  of  England,  and  some  years  after  his 
removal  to  Homerton,  he  connected  himself  with  Ram's 
Chapel,  under  the  Perpetual  Curacy  of  the  Rev.  Tliomas 
Griffith.  In  1851,  he  was  appointed  a  church- warden  of 
the  newly-instituted  St.  Barnabas  Chapel.  In  1823  he  mar- 
ried, and  his  numerous  family  of  children  were  deprived  of 
their  mother  in  1850.  He  survived  until  January  7,  1867, 
dying  in  his  seventy-sixth  year. 

He  indulged  the  poetic  vein  from  his  youth.  In  1817 
he  published,  "  The  Search  and  other  Poems  ";  and  soon 
after,  "  Anston  Park,"  a  Tale,  and  "  The  World  of  Spirits." 
In  each  of  the  years,  1820, 1821,  and  1822,  he  put  forth  a 
small  volume  of  "Sacred  Lyrics."  These  volumes  were 
well-received,  and  their  author  complimented  "  as  a  young 
writer  of  great  promise."  The  hymns,  or  lyrics,  were  thor- 
oughly evangelical.  In  1821,  he  successfully  competed  for 
a  prize  of  twenty  guineas  offered  by  a  friend  of  the  Home 
Missionary  Society,  for  the  best  set  of  Original  Hymns  (not 
less  than  fifty)  suitable  for  Cottage  Prayer-Meetings.  The 
Hymns  were  published  by  the  Society,  with  the  Title,  "  The 
Cottage  Minstrel :  or  Hymns  for  the  Assistance  of  Cot- 
tagers in  their  Domestic  AVorship."  "  One  Hundred 
Hymns  for  Sunday-Schools,"  appeared  in  1821,  and  "  One 
Hundred  Sunday-School  HjTuns  for  Particular  Occasions," 
in  1822  ;  also  fifty  "  Missionary  Hymns." 

Frequent  contributions  of  single  hymns  were  made,  from 
15 


226  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

tMs  time  onward  for  several  years,  to  the  Congregational 
Magazine,  and  to  other  periodicals.  In  1830,  appeared, "  The 
Woman  of  Shunam,  a  Dramatic  Sketch  ;  Patmos,  a  Frag- 
ment, and  other  Poems  ";  in  1844,  "  Hymns  for  the  Chamber 
of  Sickness";  in  1845,  a  volume  of  "Sonnets";  and  in  1846, 
«  Closet  Hymns  and  Poems,"— the  last  two  published  by  the 
Religious  Tract  Society.  "  Infant  Breathings :  being  Hymns 
for  the  Young,"  also  appeared  in  1846.  The  greater  part  of 
his  "Lyrics"  were  published,  in  one  volume  (1847),  and  his 
"  Sacred  Poetry,"  in  1848. 

Some  of  his  Poems  were  written,  as  he  states,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  his  friend,  Mrs.  Jemima  Luke  (the  widow  of  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Luke,  of  Clifton),  the  author  of 

"I  think,  when  I  read  that  sweet  story  of  old,"  etc. 

Others  were  written,  from  week  to  week,  for  the  Sunday 
Service  of  family  prayer,  in  his  own  household.  The  beau- 
tiful hymn, 

"Saviour  !  breathe  an  evening  blessing,"  etc., 

was  suggested  by  a  passage  in  Henry  Salt's  "  Voyage  to 
Abyssinia,"  to  this  effect :  "  At  night,  their  short  Evening 
Hymn—'  Jesus  !  forgive  us  !  '—stole  through  the  camp." 

"As  oft,  with  worn  and  weary  feet,"  etc., 

was  contributed,  in  four  stanzas,  to  the  February  Number  of 
the  Congregational  Magazine,  for  1832.  His  latest  contri- 
butions were  a  few  hymns  for  Mr.  Spurgeon's  Collection, 
entitled,  "  Our  Own  Hymn  Book"  (1866). 

A  brief  Ode,  on  "  Spiritual  Peace,"  is  subjoined,  as  an  ex 
ample  of  his  style  and  spirit : 

"Come,  sacred  Peace  !  delightful  guest, 
Diffuse  thy  heaven  within  my  breast ; 
Thy  soothing  power,  thy  gladdening  ray, 
God  gives,  and  none  can  take  away. 

"A  stormy  world,  a  heart  of  sin, 
Makes  strife  without  and  fear  within  ; 
But  God  can  give  the  soul  repose, 
Though  tossed  by  storms,  and  pressed  by  foes. 


RICHAED  ELLIOT.  227 

"Perpetual  summer,  cloudless  skies, 
A  gushing  spring  which  never  dies, 
A  table  in  the  desert  spread, 
A  pillow  for  the  weary  head, — 

"Such  is  the  peace  which  God  can  give, 
My  sweetest  portion  while  I  hve  ; 
And,  when  the  last  dark  hour  draws  nigh, 
My  sweetest  solace  as  I  die." 


RICHARD  ELLIOT. 

1788. 

Mr.  Elliot  was  a  native  of  Kingsbridge,  Devonshire.  He 
entered  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge,  in  1746,  and 
graduated,  A.  B. ,  in  1749.  Shortly  after,  he  united  with  the 
Methodists  ;  but  eventually,  settled,  as  a  Dissenting  minis- 
ter, in  London.  He  obtained  (1760)  the  use  of  the  Baptist 
meeting-house,  just  vacated,  in  Maiden-head  Court,  Great- 
Eastcheap,  and  occupied  it  until  1773,  being  assisted  in  his 
ministry  here,  by  the  Rev.  Tliomas  Tuppen,  of  Bath.  He 
published  (1761),  for  the  use  of  his  congregation,  a  volume 
of  "Psalms  and  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs — In  Two 
Parts."    The  second  Part  was  original. 

In  1773,  he  removed  from  Great-Eastcheap  to  another 
Baptist  meeting-house,  just  vacated,  in  Glass-house- Yard, 
Goswell  Street,  near  the  Charter-House.  He  died  in  1788. 
Among  his  publications  was,  "  Sin  Destroyed  and  the  Sin- 
ner Saved ;  or  Justification  by  Imputed  Righteousness,  a 
Doctrine  superior  to  all  others  for  promoting  Holiness  in 
Life."  His  "  Sermons  and  Theological  Treatises  "  were  pub- 
lished in  1788.     The  hymn, 

"  How  happy  are  the  souls  above,"  etc., 

is  from  Toplady's  Collection,  where  "it  is  followed  by  an- 


228  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

other  from  liis  pen,  of  wMcli  the  first  two  stanzas  are  sub 
jomed : 

"  Prepare  me,  O  my  God!  to  stand  before  thy  face; 
Thy  Spirit  must  the  work  perform,  for  it  is  all  of  grace. 

"  In  Christ's  obedience  clothe,  and  wash  me  in  his  blood; 
So  shall  I  lift  my  head  with  joy  among  the  sons  of  God." 


CHARLOTTE   ELLIOTT. 

1789-1871. 

Charlotte  Elliott  was  of  a  godly  and  highly  gifted 
family.  Her  maternal  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Henry  Venn, 
of  Huddersfield,  and  Yelling,  England,  was  a  divine  of  apos- 
tolic character.  He  wrote  "  The  Complete  Duty  of  INlan  " 
(1763),  and  was  one  of  that  gifted  band  of  godly  ministers, 
whose  labors  and  writings  were  blessed  so  greatly  in  bring- 
ing about  and  promoting  "  The  Great  Awakening "  of  the 
last  century,  among  the  churches  of  Great  Britain.  He 
married  (1757)  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bishop, 
D.D.,  an  eminent  divine  of  Ipswich.  Their  eldest  daugh- 
ter, Eling,  so  often  addressed  in  Mr.  Venn's  Memoirs, 
was  married,  December  20,  1785,  to  Charles  Elliott,  Esq.,  of 
Clapham  and  Brighton.  Of  their  six  children,  Charlotte 
was  the  third  daughter.  The  Rev.  Edward  Bishop  Elliott, 
and  the  Rev.  Henry  Venn  Elliott,  were  her  brothers.  The 
Rev.  John  Venn,  the  highly-honored  Rector  of  Clapham, 
was  her  uncle. 

Charlotte  was  born,  March  18,  1789,  at  Westfield  Lodge, 
Brighton.  Her  childhood  was  passed  in  a  circle  of  great 
refinement  and  piety.  She  was  highly  educated,  and  devel- 
oped, at  an  early  age,  a  great  j)assion  for  music  and  art. 
In  1821,  she  became,  and  continued  to  be  until  death,  a 
confiiTned  invalid.  At  times  she  suffered  greatly,  but  with 
the  utmost  resignation.     It  was  not  until  1822,  that  she 


CHARLOTTE  ELLIOTT.  229 

was  brouglit  into  tlie  full  assurance  of  faith.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Csesar  Malan,  of  Geneva,  Switzerland,  being  on  a  visit 
to  her  father's  Clapham  residence,  Grove  House,  was  the 
happy  instrument  of  her  deliverance  from  the  burden  of 
guilt. 

Her  health  was  improved  by  a  visit,  the  following  year, 
to  JSTormandy.  But,  in  1829,  she  once  more  became  an  al- 
most helpless  sufferer,  with  only  occasional  intervals  of  re- 
lief. In  1833,  she  was  deprived  of  her  godly  father  by 
death.  She  undertook  (1834)  the  editorial  supervision  of 
"  The  Christian  Remembrancer  Pocket  Book,"  an  Annual, 
and  (1836)  of  the  "Invalid's  Hymn  Book,"— works  pre- 
viously conducted  by  her  friend,  Miss  Harriet  Kiernan,  who 
was  then  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption.  The  Annual 
she  edited  for  twenty-five  years.  Many  of  her  poems  ap- 
peared in  it.  To  the  edition  of  the  "Invalid's  Hymn 
Book,"  enlarged  and  edited  by  herself ,  anonymously  (1836), 
she  contributed  115  hymns ;  and  among  them  her  admi- 
rable hymn, 

"  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea,"  etc. 

She  contributed  several  hymns  (1835)  to  a  Selection  of 
"Psalms  and  Hymns,"  by  her  brother,  Rev.  Henry  Y. 
Elliott.  She,  also,  published  (1836),  "Hours  of  Sorrow 
Cheered  and  Comforted."  Her  "Morning  and  Evening 
Hymns  for  a  Week,"  was  printed  privately  in  1837,  and 
published  in  1842.  A  visit  to  Scotland  in  1835,  and  to 
S\\4tzerland  in  1837,  benefited  her  considerably. 

Her  greatly  endeared  sister-in-law,  Henry's  wife,  died  in 
1841.  Her  own  mother,  after  a  year's  severe  illness,  died  in 
April,  1843.  Two  of  her  sisters  soon  followed.  She  herself 
was  brought  almost  to  the  gates  of  death.  Her  home  was 
thus  broken  up,  and,  in  1845,  she  and  her  surviving  sister, 
after  a  summer's  sojourn  on  the  Continent,  fixed  their 
home  at  Torquay.  At  the  end  of  foiu^teen  years,  she  re- 
turned to  Brighton.  A  volume  of  her  "Poems"  appeared 
in  1863.  Her  beloved  brother,  Henry,  died  in  1863.  Once 
only  (1867)  she  ventured  again  from  home,  and  passed  a 


230  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

few  weeks  at  a  neigliboring  village.  In  1869,  she  was 
brought  very  low,  but  rallied  slightly.  She  continued  bed- 
ridden until  September  22,  1871,  when  she  sweetly  fell 
asleep. 

Greatly  as  she  suffered,  her  life  was  prolonged  to  an  ex- 
treme old  age  (eighty-two),  and  fiUed  up  with  deeds  of  be- 
neficence. She  shrank  from  everything  like  ostentation, 
nearly  all  her  books  having  been  issued  anonymously. 
The  following  stanzas  are  from  a  loving  epistle  to  her  sis- 
ter, Eleanor,  written,  in  the  immediate  prospect  of  death, 
at  fourscore  years  of  age : 

"  Sweet  has  been  our  earthly  union, 

Sweet  our  fellowship  of  love  : 
But  more  exquisite  communion 

Waits  us  in  our  home  above  ; 
Nothing  there  can  loose  or  sever 
Ties  ordained  to  last  for  ever. 

"  Place  me  in  those  arms  as  tender, 
But  more  powerful  far  than  thiue : 

For  a  while  thy  charge  surrender 
To  His  guardianship  divine  : 

Lay  me  on  my  Saviour's  breast, 

There  to  find  eternal  rest." 


JULIA  ANNE  ELLIOTT. 

1841. 

Mes.  Elliott  was  the  daughter  of  John  Marshall,  Esq.,  of 
Hallsteads,  Ulleswater,  England.  In  1827,  being  on  a  visit 
with  her  father  to  Brighton,  she  worshipped  at  St.  Mary's, 
of  which  the  Rev.  Henry  V.  Elliott,  the  brother  of  Charlotte 
Elliott,  was  the  Perpetual  Curate.  An  acquaintance  between 
the  two  was  thus  formed,  resulting  in  their  marriage,  October 
31, 1833.  She  greatly  endeared  herself,  in  this  hai)py  rela- 
tionship, to  the  people  of  the  parish,  and  especially  to  her 


CORNELIUS  ELVEN.  231 

Husband's  family.  Charlotte  Elliott,  in  particular,  became 
ardently  attaclied  to  her,  and  loved  lier  as  her  own  sister. 
She  was  a  lady  of  great  loveliness  and  excellence,  and  her 
piety  was  of  a  high  order.  Her  poetic  taste  and  skill  were 
evinced  in  several  hymns  contributed  (1835)  to  a  volume  of 
"  Psalms  and  Hymns  for  Public  Worship,"  compiled,  by 
her  husband,  for  the  use  of  his  own  people.  Soon  after 
giving  birth  to  her  fifth  child,  she  calmly  yielded  up  her 
spirit,  November  3,  1841.  Her  unexpected  removal  was 
greatly  lamented,  not  only  by  her  own  immediate  kindred, 
but  by  a  large  circle  of  ardent  admirers. 

The  last  two  stanzas  of  her  hymn,  beginning  with 

"  Hail !  thou  bright  and  sacred  mom," 

are  subjoined : 

"  Soon,  too  soon,  the  sweet  repose 

Of  this  day  of  God  Will  cease  ; 
Soon  this  glimpse  of  heaven  will  close, 

Vanish  soon  the  hours  of  peace  ; 
Soon  return  the  toil,  the  strife, 
All  the  weariness  of  hfe. 

"  But  the  rest  which  yet  remains 

For  thy  people,  Lord  !  above. 
Knows  nor  change,  nor  fears,  nor  pains, — 

Endless  as  their  Saviour's  love  : 
Oh  !  may  every  Sabbath  here 
Bring  us  to  that  rest  more  near  ! " 


CORNELIUS   ELVEN. 

1797-1873. 

CoEisTELius  Elveist,  born  in  1797,  was  for  more  than 
fifty  years  the  laborious  and  useful  pastor  of  a  Baptist 
Church  at  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  England.  When  he  took  this 
charge,  it  numbered  only  forty  members,  but  increased  to 


232  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

more  than  six  hundred  communicants.  His  literary  pro- 
ductions have  been  limited  to  a  few  articles  written  foi 
periodicals.  In  January,  1852,  his  congregation  was  favored 
with  a  revival  of  religion.  To  accompany  the  Revival  Ser- 
mons preached  at  the  time,  he  wrote,  with  several  other 
hymns,  the  one  beginning 

"With  broken  heart  and  contrite  sigh,"  etc., 

which  seems  to  have  been  adapted  to  a  sermon  from  the 
Text, — "  God  !  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner  ! " 
Mr.  Elven  died  in  July,  1873. 


WILLIAM   ENFIELD. 

1741-1797. 

The  Rev.  William  Enfield,  LL.D.,  was  the  son  of 
poor  but  worthy  parents,  of  Sudbury,  Suffolk,  England, 
where,  March  29, 1741,  he  was  born,  and  passed  his  boyhood. 
His  proficiency  and  promise  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  HextaU,  the  Dissenting  minister  of  the  town,  who 
gave  direction  to  his  studies,  and  made  him  familiar,  at  an 
early  age,  with  the  choicest  miters,  in  prose  and  poetry,  of 
the  English  language.  In  1758,  he  was  sent  to  the  Academy 
at  Daventry,  Northamptonshire,  to  be  educated  for  the 
ministry,  under  the  care  and  tuition  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Caleb 
Ashworth,  the  successor  of  Doddridge.  Here  he  distin- 
guished himself  for  his  scholarship,  and  elegance  of  style 
in  composition.     His  religious  views  were  Arian. 

In  November,  1763,  he  was  ordained  the  pastor  of  Benn's 
Garden  Congregation,  Liverpool.  He  married  (1767)  Miss 
Mary  Holland,  the  daughter  of  a  Liverpool  draper.  He 
published  (1768,  1770)  two  volumes  of  sermons.  He  ac- 
cepted, in  1770,  the  Tutorship  of  Belles-Lettres,  as  the 
successor  of  the  Rev.  John  Seddon,  in  Warrington  Acad- 
emy, together  with  the  Rectorship  of  the  Institution,  and 


WILLIAM  ENFIELD.  233 

the  pastorate  of  the  Dissenting  congregation  of  the  town. 
He  was  associated,  in  the  Academy,  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  John 
Aikin,  Mrs.  Barbauld's  father,  and  with  the  learned  Rev. 
Gilbert  Wakefield. 

Scholarly  in  his  tastes,  he  made  much  use  of  the  press. 
He  published:  "The  Preacher's  Directory"  (1771);  160 
"  Hymns  for  Public  Worship,"  known  as  "  The  Wanington 
Collection"  (1772);  "The  English  Preacher"  (1773);  "An 
Essay  towards  the  History  of  Liverpool"  (1774);  "Obser- 
vations on  Literary  Property"  (1774);  "The  Speaker" 
(1774);  "Biographical  Sermons,  on  the  principal  Characters 
mentioned  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  "  (1777);  "  Exer- 
cises in  Elocution,  being  a  Sequel  to  the  Speaker"  (1781); 
"A  Translation  of  Rossignol's  Elements  of  Geometry" 
(1783);  and  "Institutes  of  Natural  Philosophy,  Theoretical 
and  Experimental"  (1783).  The  honorary  degree  of  LL.D. 
was  conferred  on  him,  about  this  time,  by  the  University 
of  Edinburgh. 

The  Warrington  Academy  was  discontinued  in  1785,  and 
Dr.  Enfield  became  the  pastor  of  the  "  Octagon  Congrega- 
tion "  of  Dissenters  at  Norwich.  He  kept,  also,  for  a  short 
time,  a  large  boarding-school,  but  soon  relinquished  it,  in 
order  to  have  more  leisure  for  literature  and  the  education 
of  his  five  children.  He  published,  in  1791,  in  two  volumes, 
an  Abridgment  of  Brucker's  "Historia  Critica  Philoso- 
phise." He  became,  also,  a  regular  contributor  to  the 
Monthly  Magazine^  just  then  started  ;  and,  in  1796,  united 
with  his  late  associate  and  intimate  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
John  Aikin,  in  the  preparation  of  a  "  General  Biographical 
Dictionary."  He  prepared  about  one  half  of  the  first  vol- 
ume ;  but  his  work  was  arrested  by  a  cancerous  aifection 
which  terminated  his  life,  November  3, 1797. 

His  hymn, 

"Behold  where,  in  the  Friend  of  man,"  etc., 

appeared  in  the  second  edition  (1781)  of  the  Warrington 
Collection.  Some  compiler  has  changed,  greatly  to  the 
injury  of  the  expression,  the  phrase,  "  the  Friend  of  man," 


234  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

to  "  a  mortal  form."    The  latter  is  a  spurious  reading.  The 
following  stanzas  are  taken  from  his  hymn  on  "  Humility  ": 

"Wherefore  should  man,  frail  cliild  of  clay, 
Who,  from  the  cradle  to  the  shroud, 
Lives  but  the  insect  of  a  day, — 
Oh !  why  should  mortal  man  be  proud? 

*'  His  brightest  visions  just  appear, 

Then  vanish,  and  no  more  are  found ; 
The  stateliest  pile  his  pride  can  rear, 
A  breath  may  level  with  the  ground. 

"By  doubt  perplexed,  in  error  lost. 

With  trembling  step  he  seeks  his  way: 
How  vain  of  wisdom's  gift  the  boast ! 
Of  reason's  lamp  how  faint  the  ray  1 " 


JAMES  HARESTGTON  EVANS. 
1785-1849. 

Me.  EvAiq-s  was  the  only  child  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Evans, 
priest- vicar  in  Salisbury  Cathedral,  and  head-master  of  the 
Endowed  Grammar- School.  He  was  born,  April  15, 1785, 
at  Salisbury.  Destined  for  the  pulpit  from  his  birth,  he 
was  regularly  educated  in  his  father's  school,  and  subse- 
quently by  his  uncle.  Rev.  Isaac  Hodgson,  of  Oxford.  He 
obtained,  at  fourteen,  a  scholarship  in  Wadham  College, 
Oxford;  at  eighteen  graduated,  B.A.;  and,  at  twenty,  be- 
came a  Fellow  of  Wadham. 

Tlie  death  of  his  mother,  in  1803,  led  to  a  marked  change 
in  his  life  and  principles,  and  to  a  more  earnest  preparation 
for  the  ministry.  He  was  ordained  a  deacon,  by  Bishop 
Moss,  of  Oxford,  June  12, 1808.  In  May,  1809,  he  took  the 
curacy  of  Worplesdon,  near  Guildford,  Surrey ;  but  shortly 
after,  exchanged  it  for  a  curacy  at  Enville,  Staffordshire. 


JAMES  HARINGTON  EVANS.  235 

He  married,  April,  1810,  Caroline  Joyce,  the  daughter 
of  Tliomas  Joyce,  Freshfield  House,  near  Bath.  At  Mil- 
ford,  Hampshire,  where  he  next  took  a  curacy,  his  labors 
were  abundantly  blessed,  resulting  in  a  revival  of  religion. 
Owing  to  the  opposition  of  the  superior  clergy,  he  resigned 
(181.5)  his  curacy,  on  the  ground  of  scruiDles  in  relation  to 
Infant  Baptism  and  Church  Establishments,  and  retired  to 
Walford  House,  near  Taunton,  where  he  connected  himself 
with  the  Baptists.  He  removed,  shortly  after,  to  London, 
and  opened  a  Baptist  Chapel,  in  Cross  Street,  Hatton  Gar- 
den. He  afterwards  preached  to  crowded  houses  in  Great 
Queen  Street.  In  1818,  he  commenced  a  ministry  of 
thirty-one  years  in  John  Street  Chapel,  Gray's  Inn  Lane, 
erected  for  him  by  Lady  Drummond,  the  wife  of  Henry 
Drummond,  Esq.,  M.P.,  his  sister-in-law.  His  ministry 
proved  exceedingly  attractive  and  useful. 

His  first  publication  was  "  The  Old  Man  and  his  Grand- 
daughter at  E[nviUe]."  In  1819,  he  published  "  Dialogues  on 
Important  Subjects,"  which,  because  of  erroneous  views  on 
the  Trinity,  amounting  to  Sabellianism,  he  retracted  in 
"Letters  to  a  Friend  in  Ireland"  (1826).  He  also  pub- 
lished: "  Letters  of  a  Pastor  to  his  Flock"  (1835) ;  "Five 
Sermons  on  Faith"  (1837);  "A  Collection  of  Psalms  and 
Hymns"  (1838);  "The  Spirit  of  Holiness,  Four  Sermons" 
(1838),  reprinted  and  extensively  circulated  in  America  ; 
"Checks  to  Infidelity,  contained  in  Four  Essays"  (1840); 
and  "  Yintage  Gleanings  "  (1849). 

His  wife  was  removed  by  death  in  1831,  and,  in  1833,  he 
married  a  daughter  of  Robert  Bird,  Esq.,  of  Taplow.  In 
1847,  his  health  declined,  and  the  next  two  years  he  sought 
its  restoration,  by  cessation  from  labor  and  by  travel.  He 
died  at  Stonehaven,  Scotland,  December  1,  1849.  His  pas- 
sion for  music  and  poetry  was  strongly  developed.  He  was 
succeeded  in  the  ministry  of  John  Street  Chapel  by  the 
Hon.  and  Rev.  Baptist  W.  Noel,  whom  he  had  baptized, 
and  who,  like  himself,  had  been  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  England. 

Nine  of  the  hymns  in  his  "  Collection "  were  from  his 


236  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

own  pen.    Two  of  the  six  stanzas  are  subjoined  of  Ms  46th 
hymn,  on  the  words,  "  I,  the  Lord,  change  not ": 

"  Change  is  our  portion  here; 
Yet,  midst  our  changing  lot, 
Midst  withering  flowers,  and  tempests  drear, 

There  is  that  changes  not, — 
Unchangeable  Jehovah's  word, 
'  I  will  be  with  thee,'  saith  the  Lord. 

'•  Changeless  the  way  of  peace; 
Changeless  Immanuel's  name ; 
Changeless  the  covenant  of  grace ; 

Eternally  the  same. 
'  I  change  not, '  is  a  Father's  word, 
'  I  am  thy  portion,'  saith  the  Lord." 


jo:n^athan  eyajs^s. 

1749-1809. 

Jo:N"ATHA]sr  Evans  was  a  native  of  Coventry,  Warwickshire, 
England,  and  was  born  (1749)  of  parents  in  the  hnmbler  walks 
of  life.  He  seems  to  have  had  no  religious  training.  The 
companions  of  his  youth  were  mostly  profane  and  profli- 
gate, and  he  himself  aspired  to  be  their  leader  in  the  ways 
of  sin.  He  served,  until  of  age,  in  the  warehouse  of  a  rib- 
bon manufactory.  In  1776,  as  appears  from  a  poetic  con- 
tribution to  the  February  Number  of  the  Gospel  Magazine 
for  1777,  he  was  brought  under  deep  conviction  of  his  fallen 
estate,  and  hopefully  converted.  Another  poetic  contribu- 
tion, dated  "  March  8, 1777,"  on  "  The  Frailty  of  Human  Life  ; 
and  the  Joys  of  Eternity,"  published  in  the  October  Num- 
ber, gives  abundant  evidence  of  genuine  religious  experience. 
Soon  after,  he  united  with  the  West  Orchard  Chapel  (Con- 
gregational), of  which  the  highly-honored  George  Burder 
became  (1783)  the  pastor. 


JONATHAN  EVANS.  237 

Though  Mr.  Evans  had  entered  into  business,  and  contin- 
ued therein  to  the  end  of  life,  he  very  soon  was  known  as 
an  occasional  preacher.  He  embraced  every  opportunity 
to  proclaim  the  Gospel,  both  in  Coventry  and  in  the  adja- 
cent country,  in  the  open  air,  or  wherever  a  congregation 
could  be  gathered.  "  Mr.  Evans  preached  in  the  afternoon," 
says  Mr.  Burder  of  the  day  of  his  inauguration,  November 
2, 1783.  The  year  before  this,  he  had  commenced  to  preach 
regularly  at  FoleshiU,  a  populous  village  two  miles  from 
Coventry,  and  to  gather  the  neglected  children  into  Sunday- 
Schools,  about  the  time  that  Robert  Raikes  was  doing  a 
like  work  at  Gloucester.  In  1784,  he  purchased  a  boat- 
house,  on  the  canal  bank,  and  fitted  it  up  for  a  place  of 
public  worship — enlarging  it,  from  time  to  time,  as  the  work 
grew  and  prospered.  A  convenient  chapel  was  built  on  the 
saTne  site,  in  1795,  a  church  organized,  and  he  himself  regu- 
larly ordained,  April  4, 1797,  to  the  pastorate  of  the  con- 
gregation. 

As  a  preacher  he  used  great  plainness  of  speech  and 
earnestness  of  manner.  His  success  in  winning  souls  to 
Christ  was  remarkable.  He  labored  diligently  for  the  tem- 
poral, as  well  as  the  spiritual,  welfare  of  his  flock,  rendering 
them,  occasionally,  medical  assistance,  as  he  had  acquired 
some  knowledge  of  the  practice  of  medicine.  He  died,  very 
suddenly,  August  31, 1809,  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  small  pamjjhlets,  or  tracts, 
he  published  nothing.  He  wrote  a  number  of  hymns,  to  be 
sung  in  connection  with  some  of  his  occasional  sermons. 
Three  of  these  were  contributed  to  Mr.  Burder's  "  Collec- 
tion of  Hymns  "  (1784).  Twenty-two  of  his  hymns  appeared 
in  the  Christian  Magazine  (1790-1793).  A  large  number 
were  left,  in  manuscript,  at  his  decease.  The  authorship  of 
the  hymn 

"  Hark!  the  voice  of  love  and  mercy,"  etc., 

has  been  disputed,  but  his  friends  claim  it  as  his.  It  first 
appeared  in  Dr.  Rippon's  Selection  (1787).  Dr.  Belcher 
says  it  is  a  part  only  of  one  of  Evans'  hymns.     The  follow- 


238  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

ing  is  from  a  hymn  contributed  (1784)  to  Burder's  CoUec- 
tion: 

"Let  saints  on  earth  their  anthems  raise, 
Who  taste  the  Saviour's  grace ; 
Let  saiats  in  heaven  proclaim  his  praise, 
And  crown  him  Prince  of  peace. 

"  Praise  him  v^ho  laid  his  glory  by, 
For  man's  apostate  race ; 
Praise  him  vs^ho  stooped  to  bleed  and  die, 
And  crown  him  Prince  of  peace. 

"  We  soon  shall  reach  the  blissful  shore. 
To  view  his  heavenly  face, 
His  name  for  ever  to  adore, 
And  crown  him  Prince  of  peace." 


FREDEKICK  WILLIAM  FABER. 
1814-1863. 

Faber's  hymns  are  among  the  grandest  and  most  beau- 
tiful in  the  language.  He  came  of  a  good  stock — the  old 
Huguenot  blood  flowing  in  his  veins.  The  Revocation  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantes  (1685)  brought  to  England  his  ances- 
tors, whose  memory  and  principles  were  faithfully  cher- 
ished by  their  descendants. 

His  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Faber,  was  the  Vicar 
of  Calverley,  Yorkshire,  where  the  grandson  was  born,  the 
seventh  child  of  his  parents,  June  28, 1814.  In  December 
of  the  same  year,  his  father,  Thomas  Henry  Faber,  Esq.,  be- 
came the  steward  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Shute  Harrington, 
Bishop  of  Durham  ;  and  from  that  time  until  his  decease  in 
1833,  he  resided  in  the  Bishop's  palace  at  Bishops- Auck- 
land, beautifully  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  rivers 
Wear  and  Gaunless.  In  the  midst  of  these  romantic 
scenes,  the  youthful  i:)oet  passed  his  boyhood,  and  received 
instruction  at  the  grammar-school.     In  his  tenth  year,  he 


FEEDERICK  WILLIAM  FABER.  339 

was  sent  to  the  school  of  the  Rev.  John  Gibson,  at  Kirkby- 
Stephen,  Westmoreland,  and  introduced  to  the  still  more 
romantic  scenery  of  that  far-famed  locality.  Even  at  that 
early  age,  his  gi^eat  delight  was  a  solitary  ramble  in  "  the 
golden  hours  of  schoolboy  holiday,"  among  the  hills,  and 
along  the  lakes  and  rivers, 

"Thoughtful  even  then  because  of  the  excess 
Of  boyhood's  rich  aboundmg  happiness." 

It  is  of  this  beautiful  "  Lake  Country,"  that  he  says,— 

"  Each  hazel  copse,  each  greenly  tangled  bower, 
Is  sacred  to  some  weU-remembered  hour, — 
Some  quiet  hour  when  nature  did  her  part 
And  worked  her  spell  upon  my  childish  heart." 

Therefore,  with  peculiar  propriety,  he  could  say,— 

"Nature  hath  been  my  mother:  aU  her  moods 
On  the  gray  mountain,  or  the  suUen  floods, 
Have  charmed  my  soul," 

Two  years  later  (1825),  he  was  sent,  first,  for  a  short  time, 
to  the  Free  Grammar-School  of  Shrewsbury,  Shropshire, 
and  then  to  the  Free  School  of  Harrow,  Middlesex— a  spot 
famed  for  its  great  extent  and  beauty  of  prospect.  Seven 
years— the  best  of  his  youthful  aspirations— were  spent 
here,  under  the  instruction,  first  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel 
Butler  (afterwards  Bishop  of  Lincoln),  and  then  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Charles  Longley  (afterwards  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury). Here,  too,  he  was  brought  under  the  spiritual  in- 
structions of  the  godly  Cunningham,  Yicar  of  Harrow-on- 
the-Hill,  and  thus  led  to  regard  with  favor  the  evangelical 
system  of  divine  truth. 

He  had  a  happy  faculty  of  winning  the  good  graces  of 
all  who  knew  him.  "  I  can  not  tell  why  it  is,"  said  one  of 
his  Harrow  schoolmates,  "but  that  Faber  fascinates  every- 
body." He  had  "  a  grace  of  person  and  mind  rarely  to  be 
met  with."  His  intellectual  development  was  not  less  re- 
markable,— ^particularly  in  the  poetic  vein. 

He  entered  Baliol  College,  Oxford,  in  1832.    "  The  Cher- 


240  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

well  Water-Lily,"  one  of  his  most  popular  poems,  pub- 
lished in  1840,  was  written  during  his  first  year  in  col- 
lege. He  now  became,  as  he  himself  expresses  it,  "  an 
unprejudiced  acolyth  of  Newman's,  an  attentive  reader 
of  his  works,  a  diligent  attender  at  his  church  " — St.  Mary 
Virgin,  of  which  the  famous  John  Henry  Newman  was 
then  the  Vicar.  Under  such  a  guidance,  it  is  not  strange 
that  Faber,  full  of  youthful  and  poetic  fervor,  entered,  with 
all  his  heart  and  soul,  into  "  the  Theological  Movement  oi 
1833,"  and  embraced  the  Romanistic  views  advocated  in 
the  "  Tracts  for  the  Times."  After  a  few  months,  however, 
his  evangelical  education  reasserted  its  sway,  and  he  shrank 
from  the  logical  results  of  Newman's  teachings. 

In  1835,  he  entered  University  College,  ha\dng  obtained 
one  of  its  scholarships.  He  became,  also,  a  contributor  to 
the  Oxford  University  Magazine.  His  poem,  on  "The 
Knights  of  St.  John,"  obtained,  in  1836,  the  Newdigate 
prize.  After  his  graduation  (1836),  he  accompanied  his 
brother,  the  Rev.  Francis  Atkinson  Faber,  on  a  visit  to 
Germany  for  the  recovery  of  his  impaired  health.  He  ob- 
tained a  Fellowship,  in  January,  1837,  and  the  Johnson 
Divinity  Scholarship.  He  had  now  fairly  di^ifted  back  to 
Tractarianism,  and  translated  the  seven  books  of  Optatus, 
for  the  "Library  of  the  Fathers."  Newman  resumed  his 
spiritual  sway  over  his  plastic  mind,  and  the  spell  was 
never  afterwards  broken.  His  poetic  tastes  were  further 
stimulated  by  a  visit,  once  and  again,  to  Wordsworth,  at 
Ambleside. 

He  was  ordained  a  deacon,  August  6, 1837,  at  Ripon,  by 
his  old  teacher.  Dr.  Longley,  and  a  priest.  May  26, 1839,  at 
Oxford,  by  Bishop  Bagot.  Though  he  published  (1838- 
1839)  several  Tracts  in  favor  of  Anglicanism,  he  continued 
to  gravitate  towards  Rome.  In  1840,  he  published  his 
"  Cherwell  Water-Lily,  and  other  Poems."  A  visit  to  Bel- 
gium and  the  Rhine  in  1839,  and  another  to  Constantinople 
(with  a  pupil)  in  1841,  helped  forward  the  Romanizing 
tendency  of  his  mind.  In  1842,  he  published  "  Sights  and 
Thoughts  in  Foreign  Churches  and  among  Foreign  Peo- 


FEEDERICK  WILLIAM  FABER.  241 

pies";  also,  "  Stygian  Lake,  and  other  Poems."  The  next 
year  (1843),  he  was  presented  to  the  living  of  Elton,  Hunt- 
ingdonshire. Soon  after,  with  letters  from  Bishop  (after- 
wards Cardinal)  Wiseman,  he  visited  Rome,  and,  after  an 
interview  with  the  Pope,  Gregory  XVI.,  resolved  that  "his 
whole  life  should  be  one  crusade  against  the  detestable 
and  diabolical  heresy  of  Protestantism," — "  the  devil's  mas- 
ter-piece." Though  he  said  of  himself  at  this  time,  "  I  grow 
more  Roman  every  day ;  .  .  .  I  am  'Gery^  very,  VERY 
Roman,"  he  returned  to  Elton,  and  for  two  years  continued 
his  ministry  in  a  Protestant  Church.  "  Sir  Lancelot,  a 
Poem,"  appeared  the  same  year.  He  also  wrote  the  "  Lives 
of  several  English  Saints,"  for  a  Series  then  in  process  of 
publication. 

At  length,  following  the  example  of  Dr.  Ne^vman,  he  was 
received,  November  17, 1845,  into  the  papal  communion,  at 
Northampton,  having  the  day  before  resigned  his  Elton 
living.  The  next  year  he  sj)ent  at  Birmingham,  and  the 
two  following  at  Colton,  or  St.  Wilfrid's,  Staffordshire. 
In  February,  1848,  he  was  received  into  the  Oratory  of  St. 
Philip  Neri,  and  in  October,  1849,  was  appointed  Superior 
of  the  Oratory  at  London.  The  establishment  was,  in  1854, 
removed  to  BromiDton,  in  the  suburbs.  Worn  .out  with 
vigils,  fastings,  and  other  austerities,  he  yielded  to 
Bright's  disease  of  the  kidneys,  and  died,  September  26, 
1863,  in  his  fiftieth  year. 

A  small  volume  of  his  original  hymns  (less  than  50)  was 
published,  in  1848,  for  the  use  of  the  Brotherhood  at  St. 
Wilfrid's  ;  an  enlarged  edition,  with  the  title,  "  Jesus  and 
Mary,"  appeared  in  1849  ;  a  third,  with  ^'6  hymns,  followed 
in  1852  ;  a  fourth,  called  "  The  Oratory  Hymn  Book,"  mth 
77  hymns,  in  1854 ;  and  a  final  edition  of  150  hjTnns,  in 
1862.  These  hymns  have  acquired  great  popularity  among 
the  Roman  Catholics  in  England  and  America,  and  not  a 
few  of  them  are  to  be  found  in  Protestant  Collections. 
Some  of  them  are  unsurpassed  as  specimens  of  the  highest 
order  of  devotional  poetry, — lofty  in  thought,  elegant  in 
diction,  graceful  in  rhythm,  fervent  in  spirit,  highly  sug- 
16 


242  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHTJECH. 

gestive,  and  wonderfully  inspiriting.  They  show  evident 
traces  of  the  evangelical  influences  under  which  he  grew 
to  manhood,  and  by  which  his  religious  character  was 
moulded. 

He  published  also :  "  All  for  Jesus  ;  or,  The  Easy  Way 
of  Divine  Love  "  (1853) ;  "  Growth  in  Holiness  ;  or,  Progress 
of  the  Spiritual  Life  "  (1854) ;  "  The  Blessed  Sacrament ;  or, 
Works  and  Ways  of  God"  (1855) ;  "The  Creator  and  the 
Creature  ;  or.  The  Wonders  of  Divine  Love  "  (1856) ;  a  new 
and  revised  edition  of  his  "  Poems  "  (1857) ;  "  Ethel's  Book," 
and  "  The  Foot  of  the  Cross  ;  or,  Sorrows  of  Mary  "  (1858) ; 
"  Spiritual  Conferences  "  (1859) ;  and  "  The  Precious  Blood ; 
or,  The  Price  of  our  Salvation,"  and  "  Bethlehem  "  (1860). 

The  following  are  from  a  lyric  of  seven  stanzas,  on  "  The 
Pilgrims  of  the  Mght": 

"  Hark!  hark!  my  soul!  angelic  songs  are  swelling 

O'er  earth's  green  fields  and  ocean's  wave-beat  shore ; 
How  sweet  the  truth  those  blessed  strains  are  telliag 
Of  that  new  life  when  sin  shall  be  no  more. 

"  Onward  we  go,  for  still  we  hear  them  singing, 
'  Come,  weary  souls !  for  Jesus  bids  you  come ' ; 
And,  through  the  dark,  its  echoes  sweetly  ringing, 
The  music  of  the  Gospel  leads  us  home. 

"  Far,  far  away,  like  bells  at  evening  pealing. 
The  voice  of  Jesus  sounds  o'er  land  and  sea. 
And  laden  souls,  by  thousands  meekly  stealing, 
Kind  Shepherd  I  turn  their  weary  steps  to  thee. 

**  Angels!  sing  on,  your  faithful  watches  keeping; 
Sing  us  sweet  fragments  of  the  songs  above; 
While  we  toil  on,  and  soothe  ourselves  with  weeping, 
Till  life's  long  night  shall  break  in  endless  love." 


JOHN  FAWCETT.  243 

JOHN  FAWCETT. 

1739-1817. 

John  Fawcett  was  bom,  January  6,  1739,  at  Lidget- 
Green,  Yorkshire,  England.  His  father,  who  was  in  hum- 
ble circumstances,  and  attached  to  the  Church  of  England, 
died  in  1751,  leaving  a  widow  and  several  children.  The 
next  year,  John  was  put  to  a  trade  at  Bradford,  and  served 
an  apprenticeship  of  six  years.  At  sixteen,  he  embraced  op- 
portunities to  hear  John  and  Charles  Wesley,  Grimshaw, 
and  AYhitefield.  A  sermon  by  Whitefield  (on  "  The  Brazen 
Serpent,"  John  iii.  14),  delivered  in  September,  1755,  was 
blessed  to  his  conversion,  and  led  him  to  consort  with  the 
Methodists.  At  the  expiration  of  his  apprenticeship  in 
1758,  he  united  vdth  the  Baptist  Church  of  Bradford,  then 
just  gathered.  Having  made  himself  active  and  useful  as 
a  private  Christian  for  several  years,  he  was  induced  by  the 
church  to  enter  the  pulpit  as  a  preacher. 

In  May,  1764,  he  accepted  a  call,  on  a  salary  of  £25,  to  be 
the  pastor  of  a  small  church  at  Wainsgate,  in  the  moun- 
tainous region,  directly  west  of  Halifax,  West  Riding  of 
Yorkshire,  and  not  far  from  the  home  of  his  childhood. 
He  was  ordained  their  pastor,  July  31, 1765.  During  his 
residence  at  Bradford,  he  had  written  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  short  poems,  which,  in  1767,  he  published  as  "  Poeti- 
cal Essays."  In  1771,  he  visited  London,  to  supply  the  pul- 
pit of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Gill,  the  learned  Expositor  of  the 
Bible,  who  was  then  drawing  nigh  to  the  grave.  After  Dr. 
Gill's  decease,  October  14,  1771,  he  received  (1772)  a  call  to 
the  vacant  charge,  an  honor  and  preferment  which  he 
was  constrained  to  accept ;  but,  having  made  his  prepara- 
tions for  removal  to  London,  he  was  so  overcome  by  the 
thought  of  parting  vsdth  his  greatly-attached  and  afflicted 
people,  humble  as  they  were,  that  he  determined  to  recall 
his  acceptance,  and  to  remain  at  Wainsgate.  It  was  then 
that  he  vsrote  that  most  popular  of  all  his  hymns, 

"  Blessed  be  the  tie  that  binds,"  etc. 


244  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  same  year,  as  " Christopholus,"  lie  published  "The 
Christian's  Humble  Plea  for  his  God  and  Saviour ;  in  an- 
swer to  several  Pamphlets  lately  published  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Priestley."  "The  Sick  Man's  Employ"  appeared  in  1774. 
A  new  chapel,  capable  of  seating  nearly  600  people,  was 
erected  for  him,  in  1777,  at  Hebden-Bridge  (a  more  advan- 
tageous location)  not  far  from  Wainsgate.  The  year  before, 
he  had  removed  to  Brearley  Hall,  in  the  village  of  Midgley, 
also  in  the  same  neighborhood,  and  here  he  opened  a  school 
which  (removed  subsequently  to  Ewood  Hall)  he  continued 
through  life,  and  at  death  devolved  upon  his  son.  On  the 
last  leaf  of  his  Hymn-Book  appears  this  Notice : 

"At  Brearley  HaU,  In  MIDGLEY,  near  Halifax,  (a 
pleasant  and  healthy  Situation)  Youths  are  genteely  Board- 
ed, and  Trained  up  in  useful  Learning,  with  great  Tender- 
ness, Fidelity  and  Care ;  and  upon  reasonable  Terms." 

It  was  thus  that  he  contrived  to  live  and  sujpport  a  grow- 
ing family.  While  a  resident  of  Bradford,  he  had  married 
Miss  Susannah,  the  daughter  of  John  Skirrow,  of  Bingley. 
In  1778,  appeared  his  "  Advice  to  Youth ;  or.  The  Advan- 
tages of  Early  Piety."  His  Hymn-Book  was  published  in 
1782.  It  contains  some  hymns  which  have  become  quite 
familiar  to  the  Christian  people  of  Great  Britain  and  Amer- 
ica. The  most  of  them  were  written  to  accompany  sermons 
on  particular  passages  of  Scripture,  and  to  be  sung  after 
the  delivery  of  the  sermon.  They  were  principally  com- 
posed in  the  midnight  hours  previous  to  the  Sabbath.  "  An 
Essay  on  Anger,"  appeared  in  1788 ;  "  The  Cross  of  Christ^ 
the  Christian's  Glory,"  and  "  Considerations  in  favor  of  the 
newly  organized  Baptist  Missionary  Society,"  in  1793 ;  "  The 
Life  of  the  Rev.  Oliver  Heywood,"  in  1796 ;  and  "  Christ 
precious  to  them  that  believe,"  in  1799. 

In  1793,  he  was  invited  to  succeed  the  Rev.  Dr.  Caleb 
Evans,  as  President  of  the  Baptist  Academy  at  Bristol,  an 
honor  that  he  declined.  In  1811,  after  four  years  of  patient 
and  assiduous  labor,  he  published  his  "  Devotional  Family 
Bible,"  and,  the  same  year,  received  the  honorary  degree  of 
D.D.  from  an  American  coUege.     He  had  suffered  greatly, 


JOHN  FAWCETT.  245 

previous  to  1783,  from  sickness  and  domestic  calamities. 
Nor  did  he  ever  fully  recover.  In  1814,  being  quite  ad- 
vanced in  years,  his  health  began  rapidly  to  decline.  A 
paralytic  stroke  in  February,  1816,  compelled  his  retire- 
ment from  the  pastoral  work,  and,  July  25,  1817,  he  left 
the  world  in  joyful  hope. 
His  hymn,  beginning  with 

"  Thy  presence,  Gracious  God !  afford," 

has,  in  the  original,  attached  to  each  stanza,  the  chorus, 

"Thus,  Lord!  thy  waiting  servants  bless, 
And  crown  thy  gospel  with  success," 

The  hymn,  beginning  with 

"Praise  to  thee,  thou  great  Creator  ! " 

owes  only  its  first  and  third  stanzas  to  Fawcett.  They  con- 
stitute the  last  of  six  double  stanzas  of  a  "  Hymn  on  Spring" 
(written  on  a  fine  spring  morning,  at  Gildersome,  near 
Leeds),  of  which  the  first  two  are  subjoined : 

"Lo!  the  bright,  the  rosy  morning, 

Calls  me  forth  to  take  the  air; 
Cheerful  spring,  with  smiles  returning, 

Ushers  in  the  new-born  year : 
Nature,  now  in  all  her  beauty. 

With  her  gentle  moving  tongue. 
Prompts  me  to  the  pleasing  duty 

Of  a  grateful,  morning  song. 

"See  the  early  blossoms  springing: 

See  the  jocund  lambkins  play ; 
Hear  the  lark  and  linnet  singing 

WelcOTue  to  the  new-bom  day; 
Vernal  music,  softly  sounding, 

Echoes  through  the  vocal  grove ; 
Nature,  now  with  life  abounding. 

Swells  with  harmony  and  love." 


246  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

JOHN  FELLOWS. 
1785. 

Dr.  "Watt,  in  his  "  Bibliotheca  Britannica,"  and  Allibone, 
after  liim,  speak  of  Jolin  Fellows  as  a  Methodist.  Gadsby 
says  truly,  as  might  be  gathered  from  his  hymns  and  other 
works,  that  he  was  a  Baptist.  He  was  a  Calvinistic  Meth- 
odist the  most  of  his  life,  and  his  earlier  residence  was  at 
Bromsgrove,  Worcestershire.  Thence  he  removed  to  Bir- 
mingham, where,  in  1780,  he  was  baptized  by  the  Kev.  Mr. 
Turner,  and  so  became  a  member  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  worshipping  in  Cannon  Street.  Dr.  Belcher,  who 
was  a  native  of  Birmingham,  says  that  he  was  "  a  poor  shoe- 
maker."   He  died  at  Birmingham,  November  2, 1785. 

"  Poor "  as  he  was,  and  uneducated,  he  was  greatly  ad- 
dicted to  versification.  The  following  works  from  his  pen 
were  published  within  ten  years  (1770-1779),  mostly  at  Bir- 
mingham: "Grace  Triumphant,  a  Sacred  Poem  in  Nine 
Dialogues"  (1770) ;  "Bromsgrove  Elegy,  in  Blank  Verse,  on 
the  Death  of  the  Eev.  G.  Whitefield"  (1771) ;  "An  Elegy 
on  the  Death  of  Dr.  Gill"  (1771);  "Hymns  on  Believers' 
Baptism"  (1773);  "Eloquent  and  Noble  Defence  of  the 
Gospel  in  His  Three  Celebrated  Speeches,  Paraphrased 
in  Blank  Verse"  (1775);  "Hymns  in  a  Great  Variety  of 
Metres,  on  the  Perfection  of  the  Word  of  God  and  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ"  (1776) ;  "The  History  of  the  Holy 
Bible,  Attempted  in  Easy  Verse"  (1777) ;  "A  Fair  and  Im- 
partial Enquiry  into  the  Rise,  &c.,  of  the  Church  of  Eome, 
in  a  Series  of  Familiar  Dialogues"  (1779);  and  "A  Prot- 
estant Catechism." 

All  his  publications  antedate  his  Baptism  by  immersion, 
though  it  is  evident  that  he  had  been  a  Baptist  previously, 
for  many  years.  Six  of  his  hjTuns  are  found  in  Rippon's 
Selection,  and  five  in  Dobell's.  The  most  of  his  poetry  is 
scarcely  worth  the  name ;  yet  he  had  some  facility  in  versi- 
fication, as  may  be  seen  by  the  following  stanzas,  from  a 


ELEAZAR  THOMPSON  FITCH.  247 

hymn  on  Gen.  xxiv.  31,— "Come  in,  thou  Blessed  of  the 

Lord!"— 

"Come  in,  ye  blessed  of  the  Lord ! — 
Ye  that  beUeve  his  holy  word; 
Come,  and  receive  his  heavenly  bread, 
The  food  with  which  his  saints  are  fed. 

"Your  Saviour's  boundless  goodness  prove, 
And  feast  on  his  redeeming  love ; 
Come,  all  ye  happy  souls  that  thirst ! 
The  last  is  welcome  as  the  first. 

"Come  to  his  table  and  receive 
Whate'er  a  pard'ning  God  can  give; 
His  love  through  every  age  endures ; 
His  promise  and  himself  are  yours." 


ELEAZAR  THOMPSON  FITCH. 
1791-1871. 

The  first  American  ancestor  of  the  Rev.  Prof.  Fitch  was 
the  Rev.  James  Fitch,  who  was  bom,  December  24, 1622, 
at  Bocking,  Essex,  England,  and  emigrated  in  1638  to  Amer- 
ica ;  where,  after  a  useful  ministry  of  fifty-six  years  at  Say- 
brook  and  at  Norwich,  Conn.,  he  died,  November  18, 1702,  at 
Lebanon,  Conn.  His  great-grandson,  Capt.  Nathaniel  Fitch, 
married  Mary  Thompson,  both  of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  and 
their  son,  Eleazar,  was  born,  January  1,  1791.  Favored, 
from  childhood,  with  every  opportunity  of  acquiring  knowl- 
edge, he  improved  his  advantages,  and  early  developed  a 
taste  for  learning. 

In  his  sixteenth  year,  he  entered  Yale  CoUege,  and  grad- 
uated, in  1810,  with  Gov.  Ellsworth,  Prof.  Goodrich,  and 
Prof.  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse.  After  his  graduation,  he  taught 
school  at  East  Windsor  Hill,  Conn.,  and  then  at  the  New 
Haven  Hopkins  Grammar-School.  Having  made  a  profession 
of  religion  while  in  college,  he  pursued  the  study  of  theol- 


248  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

ogy  at  Andover  Tlieological  Seminary  (1812-1815).  He 
remained  two  years  longer,  pursuing  advanced  studies,  giv- 
ing assistance  in  preaching,  and  supplying  neighboring 
pulpits. 

At  the  decease  of  President  Dwight  (1817),  Mr.  Fitch  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Sacred  Theology  (as  Dr.  Dwight's 
successor),  in  Yale  College.  At  his  suggestion,  and  mostly 
by  his  efforts,  the  Theological  Department  was  founded,  in 
1822.  In  the  distribution  of  the  several  Chairs,  Homiletics 
was  assigned  to  Prof.  Fitch.  Having  been  ordained  to  the 
ministry,  November  5, 1817,  he  became  the  Pastor  of  the 
College  Church,  and  gave  instruction  to  the  undergradu- 
ates, also,  in  Natural  Theology  and  the  Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity. In  the  course  of  his  pastoral  work,  he  delivered, 
to  the  successive  classes,  a  series  of  discourses  on  System- 
atic Theology.  Two  Sermons  on  "The  IS'ature  of  Sin," 
that  he  published,  July,  1826,  gave  occasion  to  a  sharp  and 
somewhat  acrimonious  controversy,  in  relation  to  "New 
Haven  Tlieology."  These  sermons  he  was  constrained  to 
defend,  the  following  year  (1827),  in  a  pamphlet  of  95 
pages,  against  the  objections  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ashbel  Green 
in  the  Philadelphia  Christian  Adwcate.  He  received 
(1829)  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  from  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania. 

He  undertook,  as  one  of  a  Committee  appointed  by  the 
General  Association  of  Connecticut,  the  oversight  of  a 
Hj^nn-Book  for  the  use  of  their  churches.  It  was  pub- 
lished in  184.5,  and  contained  six  of  his  own  hymns.  The 
decline  of  his  health  constrained  him,  in  1852,  to  resign  his 
Professorship,  retaining  only  a  Lectureship  in  Theology. 
Tliis,  too,  he  relinquished,  in  1861,  and  occupied,  thencefor- 
ward until  his  decease,  January  31, 1871,  the  position  of 
Professor  Emeritus. 

Prof.  Fitch  was  characterized  by  great  acuteness  of  mind, 
"nitli  a  remarkable  versatility.  His  inquiries  were  extended 
beyond  theology,  into  other  walks  of  literature,  into  sci- 
ence, the  arts,  aesthetics,  and  political  economy.  He  had  a 
decided  genius  for  poetry  and  music,  and  took  delight  in 


ALICE  FLOWERDEW.  249 

the  promotion  of  these  arts.     Of  a  retiring  disposition,  he 
shrank  from  the  publicity  of  the  press.    His  pulpit  services 
were  of  a  high  order.     His  style  was  graceful,  and  his 
thoughts  bold  in  conception  and  forcibly  expressed. 
The  following  is  his  version  of  the  134th  Psalm : 

"  Friends  of  God  in  every  land  ! 
Ye  that  wait  his  high  command, 
Cheerful  to  his  coTxrts  repair, 
Bless  his  name  with  gladness  there. 

"There,  with  morning's  early  rays, 
Lift  your  hands  in  holy  praise ; 
There,  at  evening's  solemn  hour, 
Bow  before  his  throne  of  power. 

" There  he  meets  his  saints  with  grace; 
There  reveals  his  glorious  face  ;— 
Heaven  and  earth's  Creator  blessed:— 
In  his  love  let  Zion  rest," 


ALICE  FLOWERDEW. 

1759-1830. 

The  particulars  of  the  early  life  of  Mrs.  Flowerdew  have 
not  been  ascertained.  She  was  a  resident,  for  a  few  years, 
of  the  Island  of  Jamaica,  in  the  West  Indies,  where  her 
husband,  Daniel  Flowerdew,  held  an  office  under  the  Home 
Government.  They  were  natives  of  England,  and  returned 
thither  late  in  the  last  century.  Shortly  afterwards  (1801) 
he  died,  and  she  undertook  a  boarding-school  for  young  la- 
dies, at  Islington,  near  London,  and  the  publication  of  her 
poems  (mostly  written  at  Islington),  for  support.  Her  po- 
ems "  were  written  at  different  periods  of  life— some  indeed 
at  a  very  early  age,  and  others  under  the  very  severe  pres- 
sure of  misfortune."  Her  later  poems  were  either  not  pub- 
lished, or  were  printed  separately. 


250  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

She  attached  herself,  while  at  Islington,  to  the  Baptist 
Church,  Worship  Street,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Evans,  who  was  of  Arian  affinities,  as  was, 
also,  Mrs.  Flowerdew.  In  1814,  she  removed  her  school  to 
Bury  St.  Edmunds,  and  subsequently  to  Ipswich.  She 
died,  September  23,  1830,  in  her  seventy-second  year,  at 
Whitton.     Her  "  Harvest  Hpnn," 

"Fountain  of  mercy,  God  of  love ! "  etc., 

is  found  in  a  large  number  of  Collections.  The  following 
stanzas  are  from  a  short  poem  on  "The  Folly  of  Scep- 
ticism": 

"Let  sceptics  boast  their  reasoning  mind, — 
How  vast !  how  free !  how  unconfined ! — 

And  vain  conclusions  draw ; 
Claiming  an  undisputed  right 
To  wing  their  bold  aspiring  flight, 
Unfettered  by  each  law. 

"Is  this  the  happiness  they  boast, — 
On  life's  tempestuoxis  ocean  lost. 

Without  a  pilot  near, — 
To  furl  their  sails  in  angry  skies  ? — 
Through  dangerous  storms,  that  often  rise. 

Then*  trembling  hsa^k  to  steer  ? 

'  *  Sweet  Revelation !    Power  divine ! 
The  pilot's  generous  aid  is  thine; 

From  error  thou  art  free ; 
The  bark,  committed  to  thy  care, 
ShaU.  to  its  destined  port  repair, 

Through  life's  tempestuous  sea." 


DAYID  EYERARD  FORD. 

Me.  Ford  was  bom  at  Long-Melford,  Suffolk,  England. 
His  father,  the  Rev.  David  Ford  (1763-1836),  was,  for  forty- 
two  years,  and  until  his  death,  the  pastor  of  the  CongTega- 
tional  Cliurch  of  Long-MeLford.     His  mother,  Mary  Ever- 


DAVID  EVERARD  FORD.  251 

ard  (1763-1842),  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  a  deacon  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  Devonshire  Square,  London.  The  father 
settled  at  Long-Melf ord  in  1794,  and  married  shortly  after. 

The  son,  David,  was  the  eldest  of  three  brothers, 
the  youngest  of  whom  succeeded  his  father  and  then  re- 
moved to  Islington,  London.  David  fitted  for  the  ministry 
at  Wymondley  College,  Hertfordshire.  He  was  ordained, 
October  11,  1821,  the  pastor  of  the  Old  Town  Congrega- 
tional Chapel,  Lymington,  on  the  Solent,  overlooking  the 
Isle  of  Wight.  He  remained  in  this  charge  twenty-two 
years,  useful  and  honored.  His  preaching,  pungent  and 
forcible,  resulted  in  large  accessions  to  his  church.  In  No- 
vember, 1843,  he  accepted  a  unanimous  call  from  the  newly- 
formed  church,  Greengate  Chapel,  Salford,  Manchester. 

Mr.  Ford  early  developed  a  remarkable  passion  for  music, 
and  in  his  early  ministry  published  several  volumes  designed 
as  "  an  Introduction  and  Helps  to  the  Art  and  Science  of 
Sacred  Music."  In  1823,  he  issued,  in  two  successive  vol- 
umes, "  The  First  Set  of  Original  Psalm  and  Hymn  Tunes," 
and  "The  Second  Set,"  etc.  "A  Third  Set"  appeared  in 
1826  ;  his  "  Rudiments  of  Music,"  in  1829  ;  his  "  Progress- 
ive Exercises  for  the  Voice,"  in  1830  ;  and  his  Sixth  Book, 
"  Original  Psalm  and  Hymn  Tunes,"  in  1833.  Large  edi- 
tions of  these  books  were  called  for,  especially  in  the  coun- 
try districts.  In  1828,  he  published  his  "  Hymns,  chiefly 
on  the  Parables  of  Christ." 

Mr.  Ford  now  began  the  publication  of  a  series  of  small 
volumes  on  practical  religious  themes,  which,  also,  had  a 
wide  circulation,  and  proved  very  useful.  "  Decapolis ;  or 
the  Individual  Obligation  of  Christians  to  Save  Souls  from 
Death,"  was  issued  in  1840 ;  "  Chorazin ;  or  An  Appeal  to 
the  Child  of  Many  Prayers,"  in  1841 ;  "  Damascus ;  or  Con- 
version in  Relation  to  the  Grace  of  God  and  the  Agency  of 
Man,"  in  1842 ;  *'  Laodicea ;  or  Religious  Declensions,"  in 
1844;  and  "Alarm  in  Zion;  or  A  Few  Thoughts  on  the 
Present  State  of  Religion,"  in  1848.  He  also  published 
(1843)  "Pastoral  Addresses,"  and  (1849)  "Congregational 
Psalmody." 


252  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

BENJAMIN  FRANCIS. 
1734^1799. 

Benjamin  Feancis  was  a  native  of  Wales.  He  was  bom 
in  1734,  and  educated  whoUy  at  home,  not  having  learned 
English  until  his  twentieth  year.  He  joined  the  Baptist 
Church  of  his  native  place  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  his  age. 
In  1753,  he  entered  the  Baptist  Academy  at  Bristol,  England, 
then  under  the  care  of  the  Eev.  Messrs.  Bernard  Foskitt 
and  Hugh  Evans.  Having  pursued  the  usual  course  of 
preparation  for  the  ministry,  he  preached  a  short  time 
at  Sodbury ;  and,  in  1757,  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Shortwood  [Horsley],  where 
he  was  ordained  in  1758. 

He  preached,  of  course,  in  the  English  language,  the  use 
of  which  he  had  fully  acquired ;  but  often  discoursed  in 
his  native  tongue,  on  the  occasion  of  his  frequent  visits  to 
Wales.  Full  of  fervid  zeal  and  glowing  piety,  his  preach- 
ing so  attracted  the  multitude,  as  to  make  it  necessary 
thrice  to  enlarge  their  house  of  worship.  A  chapel,  also, 
was  built  for  him,  at  the  village  of  Minchin  Hampton, 
three  miles  from  Horsley,  where  he  conducted  worship  on 
the  evening  of  every  alternate  Sabbath.  To  meet  the  ex- 
penses of  these  building  operations,  he  visited  London  for 
funds,  and  was  there  invited  to  take  charge  of  one  of  the 
churches  of  his  denomination,  but  refused  to  be  called 
away  from  his  country  flock.  He  gave  himself  wholly  to 
his  work,  and  continued  in  it  until  his  decease,  December 
14,  1799. 

Mr.  Francis  published  but  little :  "  Conflagration,  a  Poem, 
in  Four  Parts"  (1770);  "An  Elegy  on  the  Death  of  the 
Rev.  G.  Whitefield"  (1770) ;  two  volumes  of  Welsh  Hymns 
(1774  and  1786) ;  and  "  An  Elegy  on  the  Death  of  the  Rev. 
Caleb  Evans,  D.D."  (1791),  the  son  of  his  old  preceptor ; 
these  were  all  his  publications.  He  wrote  a  few  English 
hymns  for  particular  occasions.  His  dedication  hymn,  com- 
mencing with 

*'  In  sweet  exalted  strains," 


FULBERTUS  CARNOTENSIS.  253 

was  written,  to  be  sung,  September  18, 1774,  on  tlie  occa- 
sion of  the  last  enlargement  of  Ms  churcli  edifice. 

."  Praise  the  Saviour,  all  ye  nations! "  etc., 

was  written,  in  three  double  stanzas,  to  be  sung  at  a  Collec- 
tion for  poor  Ministers,  or  Missionaries.  These  hjnnns  and 
two  others  were  included  in  the  first  edition  (1787)  of  Rip- 
pon's  Selection.  In  a  later  edition,  appeared  one  of  his 
hymns,  in  sixteen  stanzas,  "  composed  during  a  Fit  of  se- 
vere Illness,  June,  1795,"— of  which  the  12th,  15th,  and  16th 
stanzas  are  here  given ; 

"  The  sun  that  illumines  the  regions  of  light, 
Now  shines  on  mine  eyes  from  above; 
But,  Oh !  how  transcendently  glorious  the  sight ! 
My  soul  is  all  wonder  and  love. 

"  But,  Oh!  what  a  life,  what  a  rest,  what  a  joy, 
Shall  I  know  when  I've  mounted  above ; 
Praise,  praise,  shall  my  triumphing  powers  employ : 
My  God !  I  shall  burn  with  thy  love. 

"  Come,  come,  my  Redeemer!  this  moment  release 
The  soul  thou  hast  bought  with  thy  blood. 
And  bid  me  ascend  the  fair  regions  of  peace. 
To  feast  on  the  smiles  of  my  God." 


FULBERTUS  CARNOTENSIS. 

1028. 

FuLBERT,  Bishop  of  Chartres,  France,  was  born  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  tenth  century.  Of  his  nativity  no  certain 
information  can  be  had.  He  was  instructed,  it  is  said,  by 
the  learned  Gerbert,  Archbishop  of  Rheims  (afterwards. 
Pope  Sylvester  II).  Coming  to  Chartres,  from  Rome,  he 
lectured  in  the  Cathedral  schools.  His  reputation  for  su- 
perior scholarship  and  holiness  brought  students  in  large 


254  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

mimbers  to  Chartres,  and  gave  it  great  celebrity.    He  was, 
also,  Chancellor  to  the  King,  Robert  II. 

At  the  decease  (1007)  of  Rodulph,  Bishop  of  Chartres, 
Fulbert  was  chosen  his  successor.  He  occupied  the  chair, 
with  great  dignity  and  renown,  for  twenty-one  and  a  half 
years,  until  his  decease,  April  10, 1028.  Dupin  speaks  of 
him  as  "  one  of  the  principal  restorers  of  belles-lettres,  the 
sciences,  and  theology."  He  left  a  Collection  of  134  letters 
(of  which  Dupin  gives  an  elaborate  analysis),  9  sermons, 
several  hymns,  and  other  poetical  pieces, — all,  of  course,  in 
Latin.  His  "Remains"  were  published  (1608)  at  Paris. 
The  hymns  were  written  for  the  use  of  his  diocese.  The 
original  of  the  hymn,  "Chorus  novse  Hierusalem"  (1020) 
may  be  found  in  Daniel's  Thesaurus,  I.,  222.  [See  Camp- 
bell.] 


PAUL  GERHARDT. 
1606-1676. 

Gerhaedt,  the  people's  poet,  and,  next  to  Luther,  the 
most  popular  hymnist  of  Germany,  was  trained  in  the 
school  of  affliction.  Living  and  serving  God  in  troublous 
times,  he  drank  deeply  of  the  cup  of  bitterness.  The  light 
of  his  holy  life  shone  all  the  brighter  by  reason  of  the  sur- 
rounding darkness. 

He  was  born  (1606)  in  the  humble  village  of  Grafenhai- 
nichen,  in  Electoral  Saxony; — ^his  father,  Christian  Ger- 
hardt,  was  burgomaster  of  the  town.  Ti^ained  for  the 
ministry  during  the  calamitous  period  of  "The  Thirty 
Years'  War,"  he  found  no  opportunity  for  settlement 
until  its  close.  For  a  while  he  taught  in  the  family  of 
Andreas  Bertholdt,  Chancery  Advocate,  Berlin,  Prussia. 
His  leisure  he  employed  in  writing  hymns,  and  making 
love  to  Anna  Maria  Bertholdt,  one  of  his  pupils,  and  daugh- 
ter of  the  Advocate.  About  the  close  of  1651,  being  then  in 


PAUL  GERHAEDT.  255 

his  f orty-fiftli  year,  lie  obtained  tlie  humble  pastorate  of  Mit- 
tenwalde,  and  was  ordained,  at  Berlin,  November  18, 1651. 
He  obtained,  also,  the  hand  of  his  faithful  Anna  Maria^ 
February  11,  1655.  Several  of  his  best  hymns  were  now 
written,  and  found  their  way  into  the  "  Berlin  Hymn-Book  " 
(1653)  and  other  Collections  in  Brandenburg  and  Saxony, 
yielding  him  no  small  popularity. 

His  preferment  soon  followed.  In  the  summer  of  1657, 
he  was  called  to  the  third  Diaconate  of  the  great  church  of 
St.  Nicholas,  Berlin.  Crowds  flocked  to  hear  him  preach, 
and  his  hymns  were  sung  with  enthusiasm,  as  Luther's  had 
been.  His  appearance  was  quite  prei^ossessing.  He  was 
of  middle  height,  of  firm  and  resolute  bearing,  cheerful, 
yet  of  a  quiet  mood.  He  preached  persuasively  and  lov- 
ingly, and  was  esteemed  the  model  pastor,  and  the  most 
popular  preacher  of  the  town. 

An  Edict  was  issued  by  the  Elector,  Frederick  William, 
September  16, 1664,  requiring  the  clergy  to  subscribe  an 
Act  for  the  virtual  introduction  of  the  Keformed  faith,  as 
professed  by  the  Elector,  on  penalty  of  ejectment  from 
their  respective  livings  ; — an  Act  not  unlike  the  "  Act  of 
Conformity"  enforced  by  Charles  II.,  of  England,  only  two 
years  before.  Gerhardt,  and  most  of  the  clergy,  were  Lu- 
therans. It  is  thought  that  it  was  on  this  occasion,  Ger- 
hardt wrote  his  touching  hymn, 

"  1st  Gott  fur  mich,  so  trete,"  etc. 
("  If  God  be  on  my  side,"  etc.) 

He  was  suffered  to  continue  at  his  post,  until  February  6, 
1666,  when  he  was  called  upon  to  subscribe,  and,  refusing, 
was  ejected.  Great  interest  was  made  in  his  behalf  by  the 
citizens,  and  the  negotiations  were  prolonged  nearly  a  year. 
Finally,  February  4, 1667,  he  resigned  his  charge,  and  his 
ministry  in  Berlin,  greatly  to  the  grief  of  the  citizens, 
came  to  a  close. 

It  has  been  aflirmed,  that  it  was  after  this  date,  while  he 
was  on  his  way,  with  his  devoted  wife,  from  Berlin  to  Sax- 


256  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ony,  that  lie  wrote  Ms  most  affecting  hymn,  translated  by 
John  Wesley,  and,  in  his  version,  beginning  with 

"Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs," — 

but,  in  many  of  the  Collections,  beginning  with 
"  Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears." 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  it  was  published  in  the  Collec- 
tion of  Gephardt's  hymns  in  1666,  and  Kiibler  says,  that 
"  it  was  first  published  in  1659,  and  according  to  tradition 
was  written  by  Grerhardt  to  comfort  his  anxious  wife." 
They  had  lost  their  first  child  at  Mittenwalde,  and  their  cir- 
cumstances while  there  were  very  much  straitened.  Dur- 
ing his  residence  at  Berlin,  also,  death  invaded  his  house- 
hold again  and  again.  One  son  alone  of  all  his  children 
was  left  to  him.  And  now,  March  5,  1668,  his  dearly- 
beloved  wife,  after  a  jjainful  decline,  was  taken  from  him, 
and  he  was  left  almost  desolate. 

In  October  of  the  same  year,  he  was  appointed  Arch- 
deacon of  Lubben,  in  Saxony,  and  with  his  only  surviving 
child,  Paul  Friedrich,  he  removed  thither  in  June,  1669. 
Here  he  remained,  unmolested  in  the  faithful  performance 
of  the  duties  of  his  honorable  and  responsible  position,  for 
seven  years ;  laying  down  his  work  with  his  life,  June  7, 
1676,  after  a  ministry  of  twenty-five  years,  and  in  the 
seventieth  year  of  his  age. 

Tlie  first  complete  edition  of  his  Hymns  was  published 
by  J.  E.  Ebeling,  Berlin  (1666-1667)  in  ten  folio  parts. 
Schultze  says  "  that  there  is  no  song  bearing  his  name  that 
had  not  been  printed  in  1667."  Wackemagel  says,— 
"Where  is  the  Evangelical  congregation  that  does  not 
know  Paul  Gerhardt  ?  in  what  churches  are  not  his  holy 
songs  heard?  What  the  pious  Catherine  Zell,  of  Stras- 
burg,  says  of  beautiful  spiritual  songs  in  her  h^mm-book 
is  true  of  him  :— '  The  journeyman  mechanic  at  his  work, 
the  servant-maid  washing  her  dishes,  the  ploughman  and 
vine-dresser  in  the  fields,  the  mother  by  her  weeping  infant 
in  the  cradle,  sing  them.'    High  and  low,  poor  and  rich 


PAUL  GEEHAEDT.  257 

alike,  find  them  equally  consoling,  equally  edifying ;  in  all 
stations,  among  young  and  old,  there  are  examples  to  be 
found  where  some  song  of  Gerhardt,  at  particular  periods 
in  the  history  of  the  inner  life,  was  engraven  forever  on 
the  soul,  and  subsequently  became  the  centre  point  of  the 
dearest  reminiscences.  .  .  .  The  songs  of  no  other  poet, 
either  before  or  since,  have  ever  produced  so  mighty  an 
effect,  or  obtained  so  speedy  and  so  wide  a  circulation." 

Many  of  his  hymns  were  published  in  Johann  Cruger's 
"Praxis  Pietatis  Melica."  After  his  decease  they  were 
collected,  and  published,  as  revised  by  himself,  from  his 
manuscripts,  by  his  only  surviving  son,  Paul  Friedrich. 
The  whole  number  is  one  hundred  and  twenty-three.  The 
hymn,  of  which  Dr.  Alexander's  translation  begins  with 

"  O  sacred  head,  now  wounded," 

was  doubtless  suggested  by  Bernard's  Latin  hymn, 

"  Salve,  caput  cruentum! "  etc. 

A  hymn,  by  Toplady,  from  Jacobi,  beginning  with 

"  Holy  Ghost!  dispel  our  sadness," 

appears  to  have  been  suggested  by  a  part  of  Gerhardt's 

hymn, 

*'  O  du  allersliss'te  Freude,"  etc. 

The  most  of  his  hymns  are  of  considerable  length,  aver- 
aging nine  or  ten  double  stanzas.  His  famous  Marriage 
Hymn  contains  seventeen  six-line  stanzas ;  of  which  the 
first  three  and  the  sixteenth,  in  Miss  Winkworth's  version, 
are  subjoined : 

"the  marriage  of  christian  hearts." 

"  Full  of  wonder,  full  of  art. 

Full  of  wisdom,  full  of  power, 
Full  of  grace  to  charm  the  heart. 

Full  of  solace,  hour  by  hour, 
Full  of  wonders,  ye  shall  prove 
Is  the  bond  of  wedded  love. 
17 


258  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Two,  who  ne'er  upon  this  earth 
Have  each  other's  faces  seen, 
Never,  from  then-  hour  of  birth, 

In  each  other's  thoughts  have  been, 
Find  their  hearts  and  hands  shall  meet 
In  a  bond  Grod  maketh  sweet. 

"  Here  a  father  trains  his  child. 
There  another  watches  his ; 

Driven  by  winds  uncertain,  wild. 
Sure  their  paths  through  life  must  miss ; 

Nay,  but  when  the  time  is  there, 

See  a  well-consorted  pair. 

"  And  at  last,  when  all  fulfilled 

Are  his  purposes  of  love 
Here  on  earth,  He  yet  doth  build 

Fairer  homes  in  heaven  above. 
Where,  enwrapped  in  his  embrace, 
They  shall  know  his  depths  of  grace." 


THOMAS  GIBBONS. 

1720-1785. 

More  than  a  century  ago,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Gibbons 
occupied  an  eminently  influential  position  among  the 
Dissenting  ministry  of  London.  He  was  born,  May  31, 
1720,  at  Reak,  in  the  parish  of  Swaffham  Prior.  His  father, 
Rev.  Thomas  Gibbons,  was  the  pastor  of  a  Dissenting  con- 
gregation, first  at  Olney  (the  home,  subsequently,  of  New- 
ton and  Cowper),  and  then  at  Royston,  in  Hertfordshire. 
At  an  early  age,  he  sought  to  enter  the  ministry  of  the 
Gospel,  and  was  sent  to  a  grammar-school  at  Little  Swaff- 
ham, and  then  to  another  in  the  same  county.  His  aca- 
demical studies  were  pursued  (1735-1742)  first,  at  Deptford, 
Kent,  with  Dr.  Taylor,  and  then  with  Mr.  Eames,  at  Moor- 
fields,  Middlesex. 


THOMAS  GIBBONS.  259 

He  was  duly  licensed  to  preach,  by  the  London  Associa- 
tion of  Independent  Ministers,  July  5,  1742,  and,  the  same 
year,  was  employed  as  assistant  to  the  Eev.  Thomas  Bures, 
the  pastor  of  Silver  Street  Presbyterian  Chapel,  London. 
A  year  later  he  was  chosen  to  succeed  the  Eev.  Robert 
Wright,  as  the  pastor  of  the  Independent  Church  at  Haber- 
dashers' Hall,  Staining  Lane,  Cheapside,  where  he  was 
ordained,  October  27, 1743.  This  position  he  held  to  the 
end  of  life.  He  married,  in  1744,  Miss  Hannah  Shuttle- 
wood,  whose  father,  John,  was  a  London  minister,  and 
whose  grandfather,  John,  of  Leicestershire,  was  one  of  the 
ejected  clergy  of  1662. 

In  addition  to  his  pastoral  office,  he  accepted  (1754)  the 
Tutorship  of  Logic,  Ethics,  Metaphysics,  and  Rhetoric,  in 
the  Mile  End  Academy,  as  successor  of  Dr.  Zeph.  Marry- 
att.  Five  years  later  he  succeeded  the  Rev.  William 
Guyse,  as  one  pf  the  Sabbath  evening  Lecturers  at  Monk- 
well  Street  Meeting-house.  He  proved  a  valuable  friend  to 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  afterwards  the  President  of  the 
College  of  N'ew  Jersey,  when  he  visited  England  (1753)  to 
obtain  funds  for  that  infant  institution ;  from  which,  in 
1760,  Mr.  Gibbons  received  the  honorary  degree  of  A.M. 
In  1764,  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  on  him 
by  the  University  of  Aberdeen. 

He  was  a  ready  writer  as  well  as  a  graceful  i)reacher. 
His  publications,  including  occasional  sermons  and  pam- 
phlets, were  more  than  fifty  in  number.  His  "  Poems  on 
Several  Occasions  "  appeared  (1743)  in  the  first  year  of  his 
ministry.  Three  of  his  "  Sermons"  were  published  in  1745  ; 
and  one  in  each  of  the  years,  1746,  1747,  and  1748.  An 
"  Elegy  "  followed  his  first  poetic  volume,  in  1746,  and  an- 
other (on  Dr.  Watts)  in  1748.  He  translated,  also,  Dr.  Watts' 
Latin  Poems,  into  English  verse.  He  was  admitted,  during 
the  last  six  years  of  Dr.  Watts'  life,  to  great  intimacy  with 
the  venerable  divine.  He  published  (1750)  "  Juvenilia ;  or 
Poems  on  Various  Subjects  of  Devotion  and  Virtue. "  Oc- 
casional Discourses  followed  almost  yearly,  with,  now  and 
then,  a  poetical  venture. 


260  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

In  1762,  lie  sent  forth  fifteen  "  Sermons  on  Various  Sub- 
jects, with  an  Hymn  adapted  to  each,  designed  to  assist 
the  Devotion  of  the  Family  and  Clergy."  Appended  to 
the  fourth  of  these  Sermons,  is  the  popular  hymn, 

"  Now  let  our  souls,  on  wings  sublime,"  etc. 

A  Dissertation  on  "  Ehetoric,"  the  substance  of  his  Lec- 
tures, followed  in  1767.  Two  years  later  appeared  his 
"Hymns  adapted  to  Divine  Worship.  In  two  Books"; 
containing  200  hymns,  of  which  150  are  from  his  own  pen. 
The  69th,  of  Book  II.,  is  a  Missionary  Hymn  in  seven  parts, 
containing  46  stanzas,  from  which  are  taken  the  hymns, 

"Great  God!  the  nations  of  the  earth,"  etc., 
and 

"Lord!  send  thy  word  and  let  it  %,"  etc. 

The  35th  hymn  of  Book  I.  Is  on  "The  Gospel-Feast,"  and 
begins  with 

"On  Zion,  his  most  holy  mount." 

Three  years  later  (1772),  he  sent  forth  "  The  Christian 
Minister,  in  Three  Poetic  Epistles.  To  which  are  added, 
Poetical  Versions  of  several  Parts  of  Scripture,  and  Transla- 
tions of  Poems  from  Greek  and  Latin  Writers. "  Again,  three 
years  later  (1775),  he  published  "  An  English  Version  of  the 
Latin  Epitaphs  in  'The  IS^on-conformists'  Memorial':  to 
M^hich  is  added,  a  Poem  sacred  to  the  Memory  of  the  two 
thousand  Ministers  ejected  or  silenced  by  the  Act  of  Uni- 
formity, August  24,  1662."  In  1777,  he  brought  out  his 
"  Female  Worthies :  or  The  Lives  and  Memorials  of  emi- 
nently Pious  Women";  also,  his  "Essays  in  Prose  and 
Verse,  partly  Collected  and  partly  Original,  for  the  Im- 
provement of  Younger  Minds."  "The  Memoirs  of  the 
Rev.  Isaac  Watts,  D.D.,"  followed  in  1780,  and  a  second 
volume  of  "Hymns  adapted  to  Divine  Worship,"  in  1784. 
The  hymns  in  this  volume  (262)  are,  with  a  single  excep- 
tion, original. 

Dr.  Gibbons  died,  of  apoplexy,  quite  suddenly,  Febru- 
ary 22, 1785.     His  piety  and  spirituality  were  remarkable 


CHARLES  GILES.  261 

nis  manners  urbane  and  courteous  in  a  liigli  degree ;  Ms 
temper  cheerful,  and  his  disposition  generous.  His  liter- 
ary attainments  were  respectable,  and  his  creed  evangel- 
ical. He  was  greatly  esteemed  by  Lady  Huntingdon  and 
her  friends,  with  whose  evangelical  labors  he  was  in  full 
sympathy.  In  later  years  he  numbered  Dr.  Samuel  John- 
son among  his  warmly  attached  friends.  After  his  decease 
three  volumes  of  his  Sermons  (1787)  were  published. 

The  stanzas  that  follow  are  from  the  11th  hymn,  Book 
II.,  of  the  2d  volume,  containing  seven  stanzas : 

"  Thy  goodness,  Lord !  oiir  souls  confess, 
Thy  goodness  we  adore ; 
A  spring  whose  blessings  never  fail, 
A  sea  without  a  shore. 

"  Sun,  moon,  and  stars  thy  love  attest 
In  every  cheerful  ray ; 
Love  draws  the  curtain  of  the  night, 
And  love  restores  the  day. 

"  Thy  bounty  every  season  crowns, 
With  aU  the  bliss  it  yields ; 
With  joyful  clusters  bend  the  vines, 
With  harvests  wave  the  fields. 

"  But  chiefly  thy  compassions,  Lord! 
Are  in  the  Gospel  seen ; 
There,  like  the  sun,  thy  mercy  shines, 
Without  a  cloud  between." 


CHARLES   GILES. 
1783-1867. 


Mr.  Giles  was  born,  February  22,  1783,  near  Fort 
Griswold,  Conn.  After  his  conversion,  which  was  quite 
remarkable,  he  connected  himself  with  the  Methodist 
Church,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 


262  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

He  was  admitted  on  trial,  in  the  Pliiladelpliia  Conference 
of  1805  ;  and  in  1808,  at  a  session  of  the  New  York  Confer- 
ence, lie  was  ordained  a  Deacon.  He  was  ordained  an  Elder 
by  the  Genesee  Conference  in  1811,  having  joined  it  in 
July,  1810.  His  first  aiDpointment  was  at  Chenango,  and 
the  second  at  Western,  N.  Y.  In  1814,  he  was  appointed 
Presiding  Elder  for  the  Oneida  District ;  in  1808,  of  the 
Chenango  District;  and  again,  in  1822,  of  the  Oneida 
District,  until  1825.  He  united  with  the  Oneida  Confer- 
ence in  1829,  and  preached  successively  at  "Whitesboro, 
Rome,  Steuben,  Westmoreland,  Manlius,  Jordan,  and 
Weedsport,  N.  Y.  In  1836,  he  joined  the  Black  River 
Conference.  He  labored,  in  successive  years,  at  Oswego, 
Adams,  Salina,  Geddes,  Liverpool,  and  Oriskany,  'N.  Y. 
He  was  placed  on  the  superannuated  list  in  1853,  and  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four,  he  died,  August  30, 1867, 
at  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

He  was  a  laborious  pioneer,  and  travelled  extensively  in 
the  central  and  northern  portions  of  New  York.  "He 
was  a  seK-made  man  ;  and,  in  the  departments  of  science, 
biblical  knowledge,  taste  for  the  beautiful,  and  love  of  na- 
ture, his  advancement  inspired  the  people.  Rich  in  fact, 
brilliant  in  thought,  and  intense  in  love  for  djdng  men,  he 
was  a  man  of  vast  power.  Intellectual  and  emotional,  his 
eloquence  in  the  days  of  his  prime  was,  at  times,  almost 
unearthly,  and  multitudes,  now  sainted,  owe  their  conver- 
sion to  his  instrumentality." 

The  favorite  hymn, 

"This  -world  is  poor  from  shore  to  shore,"  etc., 

is  a  part,  transposed  and  altered,  of  a  hymn  in  eight  stan- 
zas, "  By  Rev.  C.  Giles,"  found  in  "  The  Harp  :  a  CoUection 
of  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs.  By  Rev.  Hiram  May. 
Perry  [N.  Y.]  1840."  In  the  altered  form  it  appeared,  in 
six  stanzas,  in  a  "  New  Selection,"  by  the  Rev.  "  James  Gal- 
lagher, Cincinnati,  Ohio,  1835."  In  the  original,  the  first 
Btanza  begins  with 

"  The  fading  world  promiscuous  flows." 


THOMAS  HOENBLOWER  GILL.  263 

"  The  Harp  "  contains,  also,  an  Elegiac  Poem  in  17  double 
stanzas,  written  by  Mr.  Giles  on  tlie  occasion  of  the  sudden 
death  of  Miss  Esther  Frink,  and  called,  "  A  Father's  Lam- 
entation for  his  Child."    Two  of  its  stanzas  are  here  given : 

*'  Remember  how  sweetly  she  sung, 

Li  numbers  of  wisdom,  and  grace, 
While  glory  inspii*ed  her  tongue, 

And  seemed  to  embellish  her  face : 
She  seemed  like  an  angel  of  love, 

Her  conscience  so  tender  and  clear; 
The  fullness  of  grace  she  did  prove, 

Which  triumphed  o'er  sorrow  and  fear. 

"  But  "Esther  is  gone,  she  is  gone! 

She  has  taken  her  flight  to  the  skies ; 
She  worships  around  the  bright  throne. 

The  tears  are  all  wiped  from  her  eyes : 
She 's  gone  to  her  Saviour  above, 

With  angels  her  spirit  has  joined ; 
She  drinks  of  the  ocean  of  love, 

A  mansion  for  her  was  designed." 


THOMAS  HORNBLOWER  GILL. 

1819 . 

Mr.  Gill  is  of  Puritan  antecedents.  Among  his  ances- 
tors is  numbered  the  Rev.  Richard  Serjeant,  of  Stone,  Wor- 
cestershire, England, —  "a  good  while  assistant  to  Mr. 
Baxter,  at  Kidderminster,"  whom  Baxter  describes  as  "  a 
man  of  extraordinary  prudence,  humility,  sincerity,  self- 
denial,  patience,  and  blamelessness  of  life,"  one  of  the 
ejected  clergymen  of  1662.  Mr.  Gill  is  a  descendant  of  one 
of  Mr.  Serjeant's  two  daughters,  and  was  born  (1819)  at  Bir- 
mingham. He  was  trained,  by  his  parents,  a  Unitarian,  and 
was  educated  at  the  Birmingham  Grammar- School.  He  de- 
clined, at  nineteen,  to  enter  upon  an  Oxford  University 


264  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

course,  because  he  could  not  conscientiously  subscribe  to 
the  Thirty-Nine  Articles.  But,  from  that  time,  he  devoted 
himself,  for  seven  years,  to  the  study  of  the  Greek  New 
Testament. 

He  contributed  (1846)  eight  hymns  to  a  Unitarian  Collec- 
tion, compiled  by  the  Rev.  George  Dawson.  Five  of  them 
are  found  in  the  "Hymn  and  Tune  Book"  (1869)  of  the 
American  Unitarian  Association.  The  true  light  now  be- 
gan to  shine  upon  him.  "  Brought  up,"  he  says,  "  in  the 
utmost  strictness  of  dogmatic  Unitarianism,  I  first  began  to 
chafe  under  the  yoke,  through  my  exceeding  delight  in  the 
hymns  of  Watts,  and  from  the  contrast  between  their  na- 
tive power  and  beauty,  and  their  shrunken  and  dwindled 
plight,  when  shorn  of  their  inspiring  theology  by  Unitarian 
mutilations.  It  seemed  to  me  strange  that  the  gain  of  truth 
should  be  the  loss  of  glory,  and  I  longed  to  appropriate  the 
strains  which  I  so  loved.  The  assiduous  perusal  of  the 
Greek  Testament,  for  many  years,  showed  me  clearly,  that 
Unitarianism  failed  to  interpret  the  Book  of  Life.  As  truth 
after  truth  broke  upon  my  gaze,  God  put  a  new  song  into 
my  mouth.     My  first  true  song  of  Zion  was, — 

'  Saviour !  needs  the  world  no  longer 
To  rejoice  beneath  thy  light  ? 
Have  we  lovers  sweeter,  stronger  ? 
Beams  for  us  a  sun  more  bright  ? 

Are  we  weary 
Of  thy  mercy  and  thy  might  ? ' " 

it  is  a  hymn  of  seven  stanzas— the  35th  of  his  "  Golden 
Chain  of  Praise,"  and  written  "  when  fresh  from  the  con- 
templation of  the  misery  and  anarchy  of  Shelley's  Life." 
Step  by  step  he  advanced,  until  1849,  "  when,"  he  says  of 
himself,  "  I  first  saw  clearly  whither  I  was  going,  and  when 
the  divine  nature  of  the  Lord  Jesus  rose  clearer  and  clearer 
before  me,  until  it  was  fully  recognized  by— 

'  Oh !  mean  may  seem  this  house  of  clay, 
Yet  'twas  the  Lord's  abode ; 
Our  feet  may  mourn  this  thorny  way, 
Yet  here  Emmanuel  trod.' " 


THOMAS  HORNBLOWER  GILL.  265 

This  is  the  first  of  eleven  stanzas,  in  which  he  confesses  his 
faith  in  the  incarnate  Son  of  God.  Twenty-four  such  Gos- 
pel hymns  he  now  contributed  to  the  second  edition  (1853) 
of  Mr.  Dawson's  Collection.  From  that  time,  he  fully  and 
heartily  espoused  the  orthodox  faith,  and  consorted  with 
the  Evangelical  wing  of  the  Church  of  England.  Of  inde- 
pendent means,  he  has  given  himself  to  historical  and  the- 
ological studies,  residing  most  of  the  time,  alternately,  at 
Birmingham,  London,  and  Lewisham,  Kent.  He  is  a  stren- 
uous opponent  of  Ritualism,  and  assiduously  devotes  him- 
self to  the  promotion  of  Protestant,  and  especially  Puritan, 
views  and  movements—"  as  a  national  power  and  a  spiritual 
principle." 

He  published,  in  1858,  "The  Anniversaries:  Poems  in 
Commemoration  of  Great  Men  and  Great  Events";  and  a 
still  more  elaborate  and  extended  work,  in  1866,  entitled, 
"The  Papal  Drama:  a  Historical  Essay";  which  Newman 
pronounces  "  the  most  learned  work  that  has  come  from 
the  Evangelical  side  for  the  last  forty  years."  At  the  earn- 
est solicitation  of  friends  both  in  England  and  America,  he 
collected  and  published  his  hymns,  as  "  The  Golden  Chain 
of  Praise,"  dedicating  the  book  to  his  "  dearest  brother,  the 
Reverend  J.  C.  Gill,  M.A.,  .  .  .  .  a  powerful  and  persua- 
sive preacher."  It  is  not  likely  that  his  hymns,  though  of 
a  high  order,  will  become  general  favorites.  They  lack 
simplicity,  and  are  too  intricate. 

Here  are  the  first  four  stanzas  of  his  hymn,  on  the  theme, 
"Thy  statutes  have  been  my  song": 

"  Full  many  a  smile,  full  many  a  song 
Makes  glad  my  portion  here ; 
Lord  !  all  my  strains  to  thee  belong; 
Thou  sendest  all  my  cheer. 

"  But,  O  my  God  !  my  songs  divine 
Are  sweetest  far  to  me ; 
My  singing  robes  most  glorious  shine, 
Put  on,  dear  Lord  1  for  thee. 

"Joy!  joy!  when  thou  the  theme  dost  lend, 
When  thou  the  song  dost  make ! 


266  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

How  sweet  thy  gifts  on  thee  to  spend, 
Thy  glory  home  to  take ! 

*'  I  sing  because  thy  works  are  fair; 
Thy  glory  makes  me  glad ; 
The  garments  bright  of  praise  I  wear, 
For  thou  art  brightly  clad." 


WILLIAM  GOODE. 
1762-1816. 

A  godly  and  an  eminently  useful  divine  was  given  to  tlie 
churcli  in  tlie  person  of  tlie  Rev.  William  Goode.  He  was 
born,  April  2, 1762,  of  pious  parents,  at  Buckingham,  Eng- 
land. While  yet  a  school-boy,  he  was  brought  under  serious 
impressions.  He  profited  greatly  by  the  ministry  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Simpson,  At  the  age  of  thirteen,  though  of  the 
Church  of  England,  he  was  sent  to  the  school  of  the  Rev. 
William  Bull  (the  friend  of  Newton  and  Cowper),  the  Dis- 
senting minister  of  Newport  Pagnell.  From  fourteen  to 
sixteen,  he  assisted  his  father  in  business,  but  devoted  his 
early  morning  hours  to  the  study  of  Hebrew.  He  fitted 
for  college  (1778-1779),  under  the  instruction  of  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Clarke,  Rector  of  Chesham  Bois. 

He  entered  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  as  a  commoner 
in  1780,  and  graduated  in  1784.  He  was  ordained  a  dea- 
con, the  same  year,  and  obtained  the  curacy  of  Abbotts 
Langley,  Hertfordshire.  Two  years  later,  he  became  the 
curate  of  the  godly  William  Romaine,  author  of  "  The  Life, 
the  Wall?,  and  the  Triumph  of  Faith."  The  same  year  he 
married  Miss  Rebecca  Coles,  daughter  of  Mr.  Abraham 
Coles,  of  St.  Albans.  Mr.  Romaine  was  the  Rector  of  the 
united  parishes  of  St.  Andrew  by  the  Wardrobe  and  St. 
Anne's,  Blackfriars,  London ;  and  at  his  decease,  July  25, 
1795,  Mr.  Goode,  on  the  presentation  of  the  crown,  was  ap- 
pointed his  successor.     He  was  subsequently  appointed 


WnXIAM  GOODE.  267 

Lecturer  of  St.  Jolin's,  Wapping,  and  at  St.  Lawrence^ 
Jewry. 

Following  in  the  steps,  as  lie  partook  of  the  spirit,  of  the 
sainted  Romaine,  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  promotion 
of  the  various  benevolent  and  religious  movements  of  the 
day.  His  labors  among  his  own  people  were  abundant, 
faithful,  and  jDroductive  of  great  good.  For  twenty-one 
years  he  served  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Society  for  the  Re- 
lief of  Poor  Pious  Clergymen.  He  was,  also,  one  of  the 
founders,  and  most  earnest  advocates,  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society.  In  one  of  his  journeys,  with  the  Secre 
tary,  for  the  promotion  of  the  noble  work  of  the  Society, 
in  September,  1814,  he  was  taken  ill  at  IiDswich,  and  from 
the  effects  of  this  attack  he  never  recovered.  After  a  pro- 
tracted illness,  in  which  he  endured  great  suffering  with 
exemiDlary  patience  and  resignation  to  the  Divine  will,  he 
closed  his  useful  life,  April  15, 1816,  in  his  fifty-fourth  year. 

In  addition  to  several  occasional  Sermons,  and  a  Series  of 
Essays  on  "  The  Scripture  Titles  of  Christ,"  contributed  to 
The  CJiHstian  Ouardian,  he  published,  in  1811,  "An  En- 
tire New  Version  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  ;  in  which  an  At- 
tempt is  made  to  accommodate  them  to  the  Worship  of  the 
Christian  Church,  in  a  Variety  of  Measures  now  in  general 
Use:  with  Original  Prefaces  and  Notes,  Critical  and  Ex- 
planatory. In  two  Volumes"; — of  which  a  third  edition 
appeared  in  1816.  He  had  attempted  to  modernize  some 
passages  of  "  The  Old  Version,"  but  was  led  at  length  to 
versify  the  Psalms  anew.  His  version  failed,  however,  to 
supiDlant  Tate  and  Brady,  which  still  keeps  its  place  in  the 
Prayer  Book. 

At  his  death,  he  left,  in  shorthand,  156  Essays  on  "  The 
Titles  of  our  Lord,"  which  were  published  (1822)  by  his  son 
William,  the  late  eminent  Dean  of  Ripon,  author  of  sev- 
eral able  treatises  in  opposition  to  the  Oxford  Movement. 
The  title  of  the  book  is,  "Essays  on  all  the  Scriptural 
Names  and  Titles  of  Christ ;  or  The  Economy  of  the  Gos- 
pel Dispensation  as  exhibited  in  the  Person,  Character,  and 
Offices  of  the  Redeemer." 


268  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  following  is  the  second  Part  of  Ms  second  Version 
of  Psalm  47 : 

"Jesus  ascends  on  high,  ^ 

And  shouts  our  God  surround  ; 
The  trampets  hail  him  through  the  sky, 
With  solemn  sound  ; 
Sing  praises  to  our  God, 
United  praises  sing ; 
Your  praise  i*epeat,  and  shout  abroad 
Tm manners  King. 

"O'er  all  th'  obedient  earth 
Oui'  God  exalted  reigns : 
To  him  devote,  with  skillful  mirth, 
The  solemn  strains : 
Let  heathen  lands  adore, 
His  just  dominion  own. 
While  endless  holiness  and  power 
Secure  his  throne. 

"  Earth's  sovereign  princes  join 

With  Abr'ham's  favored  race, 
Where  Abr'ham's  God,  with  power  divine, 
Displays  his  grace : 
Its  mightiest  shields  shall  fall, — 
By  him  they  rule,  or  die ; 
Jesus  ascends,  He  reigns  o'er  all, 
Exalted  high." 


BENJAMIN  GOUGH. 

1805 . 


Me.  Gough  has  long  been  a  Wesleyan  local  preacher. 
He  was  born  (1805)  at  Soiithborough,  Kent,  England.  In 
early  life  he  found  his  way  to  London,  and  entered  into  mer- 
cantile business,  and  after  pursuing  it  with  credit  and  suc- 
cess for  many  years,  retired  to  his  estate,  Mountfield,  a  few 
miles  west  of  Canterbury. 


BENJAMIN  GOUGH.  269 

While  a  resident  of  London,  lie  published  (1832)  "An 
Indian  Tale,  and  Other  Poems."  He  has  made  frequent 
contributions  to  evangelical  periodicals,  particularly  The 
Wesleyan  Methodist  Magazine.  After  his  retirement  to 
the  country,  he  gathered  these  productions,  and  published 
them,  with  others,  under  the  title  of  "Lyra  Sabbatica: 
Hymns  and  Poems  for  Sundays  and  Holy  Days."  The 
Preface  is  dated,  "  Mountfield,  near  Faversham,  May  1st, 
1865."  "  They  breathe  a  Catholic  spirit,  exalting  Christ  as 
the  world's  Redeemer,  and  stimulating  to  a  pure  and  active 
Christian  life."  The  volume  contains  eighty-two  lyrics,  on 
a  great  variety  of  sacred  themes,  quite  respectable  as  poetic 
compositions,  and  some  of  them  having  considerable  merit. 
A  second  volume,  entitled,  "Kentish  Lyrics,"  containing 
also  several  hymns  suitable  for  worship,  was  published  in 
1867.  From  the  first  of  these  two  volumes,  the  following 
two,  from  a  lyric  of  five,  stanzas  are  taken : 

"Sweet  is  the  hooir  of  prayer,  and  sweet  the  calm 
Sequestered  nooks,  where  Sabbath  silence  reigns; 

The  whispering  breeze  is  love ;  the  air  is  balm, 
The  sunshine  heavenly ;  and  the  shady  lanes 

O'erarched  with  elms,  like  some  cathedral  nave, 
Inspire  devotion ;  while,  upon  the  ear. 
The  swallow's  twitter,  and  the  sheep-bell  near. 

Fall  softly,  and  tall  ti-ees  in  chorus  wave. 

And  earth  in  Sabbath  smiles,  like  flowers  upon  a  grave. 

"  Sweet  is  the  Sabbath  momiug,  when  the  chimes 
Ring  out  their  welcome  music  o'er  the  land  ;— 

Rich  music!— Gospel  call  for  gospel  tunes, 
Which  princes  feel,  and  peasants  tmderstand. 

What  gentle  undulations  swell  and  rise. 
Wafted  o'er  hill  and  dale,  like  Mercy's  voice, 
Whose  loving  accents  bid  owe  hearts  rejoice ! 

O  trembling  prodigal !  lift  up  thine  eyes! 

O  troubled  child  of  God  !  look  upward  to  the  skies! " 


270  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

SIR  EGBERT  GRANT. 
1785-1838. 

Sir  Robert  Grant  was  born  (1785)  of  Scotch  parents, 
at  Malda,  Bengal,  India.  His  father,  Charles  Grant,  Esq. 
(1746-1823),  for  more  than  twenty  years  (1767-1790),  re- 
sided, as  a  servant  of  the  East  India  Company,  in  India. 
On  his  retnrn  to  England,  he  occupied  (1794-1808)  the  hon- 
orable position  of  a  Director,  and,  in  1805,  was  chosen 
Chairman  of  the  Court  of  Directors  of  the  Company.  He 
also  sat  (1802-1819)  in  Parliament  for  Inverness.  He  was 
associated  with  Wilberforce  and  other  philanthropists  of 
the  period,  in  Anti-Slavery  efforts,  in  the  distribution  of 
the  Scriptures,  in  procuring  an  Episcopal  esta,blishment 
and  an  open  door  for  the  Gospel  in  India,  and  in  other 
similar  movements.  He  was  conspicuous  for  piety,  phi- 
lanthropy, integrity,  statesmanship,  and  salutary  control 
over  leading  minds.  In  1772,  he  married  Miss  Frazer,  a 
most  exemplary  Christian  ladj^ 

Robert,  their  second  son,  was  in  his  sixth  year  when  his 
parents  returned  from  India  and  fixed  their  residence  in 
London.  He  was  educated  at  Cambridge  University,  and, 
with  his  elder  brother,  Charles,  afterguards  Lord  Glenelg 
(1778-1866),  graduated  at  Magdalen  College,  A.B.,  in  1801, 
and  A.M.,  1804.  He  became,  shortly  after  graduation,  a 
FeUow  of  his  College.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  Janu- 
ary, 1807,  and  became  a  successful  practitioner.  He  pub- 
lished (1813)  "  A  Sketch  of  the  History  of  the  East  India 
Company,"  to  1773;  and  "The  Expediency  maintained  of 
continuing  the  System  by  which  the  Trade  and  Govern- 
ment of  India  are  now  regulated."  He  entered  Parliament 
(1826)  for  Inverness,  and  subsequently  represented  Fins- 
bury.  ^  He  was  honored  (1831)  with  a  seat  in  the  Privy 
Council,  and  was  appointed  Judge  Advocate.  He  was, 
also,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  for  the  Af- 
fairs of  India.      In  1834,  he  was  appointed  Governor  of 


SIR  ROBERT  GRANT.  271 

Bombay,  and  returned  to  India.  He  died,  July  9, 1838,  at 
Dapoorie,  Western  India. 

He  was  of  medium  stature  and  robust  constitution,  with 
a  fuU  and  ruddy  face,  and,  in  Ms  later  days,  pure  white 
hair.  He  was  an  excellent  speaker,  his  voice  musical  and 
perfectly  at  command,  his  language  chaste  and  elegant, 
and  his  manners  highly  graceful.  His  moral  character  was 
perfectly  unsullied,  and  he  was  held  in  high  estimation  by 
all  parties. 

He  wrote  a  few  (12)  occasional  hymns  or  poems,  at  various 
periods  of  his  life,  which  after  his  decease  were  published 
(1839)  by  his  elder  brother.  Lord  Glenelg,  in  a  volume  en- 
titled "  Sacred  Poems."    His  hymn  beginning  with 

"Oh!  worship  the  King,  all  glorious  above," 

was  contributed,  in  six  stanzas,  to  the  February  IS'umber  of 
the  Cliristian  Ohserver,  for  1806,  with  the  signature,  "  E.— 
Y.  D.  R."  A  revised  edition  of  the  same  hymn  was  repub- 
lished in  the  February  Number  of  1812,  by  request  of  the 
same  "  E.— Y.  D.  R."  The  significance  of  the  signature  has 
not  been  determined. 

"Saviour!  when,  in  dust,  to  thee,"  etc., 

was  contributed,  as  a  "  Litany,"  to  the  IS'ovember  Number 
of  the  Christian  Ohsermr,  for  1815,  without  signature.  The 
following  are  the  first  and  last  of  three  stanzas  on  the  text, 
"  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  ? " — 

"  Lord  of  earth!  thy  forming  hand 
Well  this  beauteous  frame  hath  planned  — 
Woods  that  wave,  and  hills  that  tower, 
Ocean  rolling  in  his  power; 
All  that  strikes  the  gaze  unsought, 
All  that  charms  the  lonely  thought; 
Friendship — gem  transcending  price, 
Love — a  flower  from  Paradise ; 
Yet,  amidst  this  scene  so  fair, 
Should  I  cease  thy  smile  to  share. 
What  were  all  its  joys  to  me  ? 
Whom  have  I  on  earth  but  thee  ? 


272  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

*'  Lord  of  earth  and  heaven !  my  breast 
Seeks  in  thee  its  only  rest : 
I  was  lost ;  thy  accents  mild 
Homeward  lured  thy  wandering  child: 
I  was  blind ;  thy  healing  ray 
Charmed  the  long  eclipse  away. 
Source  of  every  joy  I  know ! 
Solace  of  my  every  woe ! 
Oh !  if  once  thy  smile  divine 
Ceased  upon  my  soul  to  shine, 
What  were  earth  or  heaven  to  me  ? 
Whom  have  I  in  each  but  thee  ?  " 


JANE  LEWERS  GRAY. 

1796-1871. 

Mrs.  Gray  was  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  John  Gray,  D.D.j 
for  many  years  the  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Easton,  Pa.  They  were  both  natives  of  Ireland.  She 
was  a  native  of  Castle  Clayney,  in  the  North  of  Ireland, 
and  the  daughter  of  William  Lewers,  a  ruling  elder  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  The  home  of  her  childhood,  the  pi- 
ous ways  of  the  household,  the  worship  of  the  rustic  peo- 
ple in  the  humble  sanctuary  of  her  fathers,  with 

"its  low-thatched  roof, 

Its  floor  of  trodden  clay, 
And  the  old  pastor's  time-worn  face. 
And  wig  of  silver  gray," — 

are  beautifully  sketched  in  her  "  Sabbath  Reminiscences," 
beginning  with 

' '  I  remember,  I  remember. 

When  Sabbath  morning  rose, 
We  changed  for  garments  neat  and  clean. 
Our  soiled  week-day  clothes ; 


JANE  LEWERSGRAY.  273 

And  yet  no  gaudy  finery, 

Nor  brooch,  nor  jewel  rare, 
But  hands  and  faces  looking  bright, 

And  smoothly-parted  hair." 

She  was  favored  with  a  careful  and  religious  education 
at  the  Moravian  Seminary  of  Gracehill,  near  Belfast,  Ire- 
land, She  became,  soon  after  leaving  the  Seminary,  the 
wife  of  the  Kev.  John  Gray,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
with  whom  she  emigrated  to  America.  Mr.  Gray  accepted 
a  call  from  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Easton,  Pa. , 
where  he  continued  in  the  exercise  of  his  ministry,  nearly 
half  a  century,  exerting  a  wide  and  happy  influence,  hon- 
ored in  his  profession  (receiving  the  degree  of  D.D.  from 
an  American  College),  and  closing  his  useful  life,  January 
12, 1868.  His  excellent  wife  survived  him,  and  died,  at 
Easton,  Pa.,  November  18, 1871,  in  her  seventy-sixth  year. 

Mrs.  Gray  was  greatly  beloved  as  a  wife,  a  mother,  and  a 
friend.  Her  piety  was  exemplified,  throughout  her  life,  in 
a  continuous  course  of  faith  and  good  works.  She  endeared 
herself  greatly  to  her  husband's  congregation,  and  a  still 
wider  circle  of  admiring  friends.  She  held  the  pen  of  a 
ready  writer,  and  not  unfrequently  wrote  for  the  religious 
press.     The  plaintive  and  beautiful  hymn, 

"  Hark  to  the  solemn  bell,"  etc., 

was  contributed  by  her  to  the  Presbyterian  Collection  of 
"  Psalms  and  Hymns  "  of  1843.  After  her  decease,  a  vol- 
ume of  her  poems,  entitled,  "  Selections  from  the  Poetical 
Writings  of  Jane  Lewers  Gray,"  was  "  printed  for  private 
distribution,"  New  York,  1872.  The  following  are  the  first 
two  of  a  poem  of  ten  stanzas,  on  "  Morn  "  : 

"  Mom  is  the  time  to  wake; 
The  eyelids  to  unclose, 
Spring  from  the  arms  of  sleep,  and  break 

The  fetters  of  repose ; — 
Walk  at  the  dewy  dawn  abroad. 
And  hold  sweet  fellowship  with  God. 
18 


274  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUHCH. 

"  Mom  is  the  time  to  pray; 

How  lovely  and  how  meet, 
To  send  our  earliest  thoughts  away, 

Up  to  the  mercy-seat ! — 
Ambassadors,  for  us  to  claim 
A  blessing  in  our  Master's  name." 


GREGORY  I. 

550-604. 

The  name  of  Gregory  lias  long  been  given  to  a  peculiar 
style  of  Cliurcli  Song.  The  Gregorian  Chant  dates  from 
his  Pontificate,  and  marks  a  special  epoch  in  the  musical 
history  of  the  Church.  His  father,  Gordianus,  was  a  sen- 
ator, and  cardinal  deacon,  of  Rome.  His  mother,  Sylvia, 
was  distinguished  for  her  devotion  to  the  Church.  They 
were  in  easy  circumstances. 

Gregory  was  born  at  Rome,  about  550,  and  is  repu- 
ted to  have  been  the  great-grandson  of  Pope  Felix  II. 
Having  pursued  the  study  of  law,  he  obtained  from  the 
Emperor,  Justin,  the  post  of  prefect  of  the  city.  After  the 
death  of  his  father,  he  renounced  the  world,  and  assumed 
the  habit  of  a  monk.  His  worldly  substance  he  devoted 
to  the  construction  of  six  monasteries  in  Sicily,  and  to  the 
conversion  of  his  own  house,  on  the  Cselium  Hill,  also  into 
a  monastery. 

He  was  ordained  one  of  the  seven  deacons  of  Rome 
(581)  by  Pope  Pelagius  II.,  who  sent  him,  as  his  nuncio, 
to  the  court  of  the  Emperor,  Tiberius,  at  Constantinople. 
On  liis  return  (584),  he  was  appointed  the  Pope's  Secretary. 
In  590,  he  completed  his  "  Libri  Moralium,"  or  Comments 
on  the  book  of  Job,  which  he  had  begun  while  abroad. 
Tlie  same  year,  during  the  prevalence  of  the  great  plague, 
of  which  Pelagius  died,  he  instituted  the  singing  of  pro- 
cessional litanies  through  the  streets  of  the  city.  Chosen 
the  successor  of  Pelagius,  he  accepted  the  Pontificate,  ap- 


GREGORY  I.  275 

parently,  with  great  reluctance.  Six  years  later  (596),  lie 
sent  Augustine  and  his  fellow  monks  as  missionaries  to 
Britain. 

He  was  passionately  devoted  to  sacred  music,  and  sought, 
in  every  possible  way,  to  improve  the  mode  of  singing  in 
the  churches.  He  restored  the  purity  of  the  Ambrosian 
Chant.  He  made  large  collections  of  church  music,  and  to 
the  four  pure,  or  simple,  tones  of  Ambrose,  added  four 
subordinate  tones.  An  order  of  service,  consisting  of 
Psalms,  Responses,  and  Masses,  was  introduced,  and  has 
been  perpetuated  until  now.  He  banished  the  floral  song 
of  the  Milan  school,  and  substituted  the  plain  song.  He 
founded,  also,  an  "  Academy  of  Music,"  which  flourished 
for  300  years.  The  Gregorian  style  of  music  underlies  the 
whole  fabric  of  Lutheran  and  Anglican  church  melody.  It 
is  based  on  the  very  nature  of  things,  and  commends  itself 
by  its  simplicity,  its  richness,  and  its  devoutness. 

He  was  one  of  the  best  of  the  Popes.  He  adopted  the 
title  of  "Servus  servorum  Dei,"  in  rebuke  of  John,  the 
Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  who  called  himself  the 
"  (Ecumenical  Patriarch  "  of  the  Church.  He  was  a  faith- 
ful preacher  of  the  Gospel,  a  thorough  scholar,  a  profound 
thinker,  a  genuine  reformer,  and  had  the  reputation  of  be- 
ing a  truly  holy  man.  His  life  was  worn  out  with  the  un- 
ceasing labors  and  vexatious  cares  and  anxieties  of  his 
great  office,  and  he  died,  March  12,  604. 

He  wrote,  in  addition  to  his  "  Libri  Moralium  "  in  35 
books :  forty  Homilies  on  Ezekiel ;  "  Libri  Regulae  Pastor- 
alis,"  in  three  parts ;  four  books  of  Dialogues ;  twelve 
books  of  Letters;  an  "Exposition  of  the  Canticles";  and 
a  "Commentary  on  the  Gospels."  It  is  not  without  rea- 
son, that  he  is  known  in  history,  as  "  Gregory,  the  Great," 
and  is  regarded  as  "  the  last  of  the  classical  doctors  of  the 
Church." 

Ten  Latin  hymns  are  attributed  to  him,  by  Daniel, — 
"  Thesaurus  Hymnologicus,"  I.  175-183.     The  hymn, 

"Rex  Christe,  Factor  omnium,"  etc., 
["O  Christ,  our  King,  Creator,  Lord!"— Tr.  Ray  Palmer.] 


276  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

is  in  six  four-line  stanzas,  and  is  entitled, — "In  Passione 
Domini  (al..  In  Coena  Domini)."  It  has  frequently  been 
transferred  into  German.  Luther  regarded  it  as  superior 
to  all  hymns,  but  made  no  version  of  it.  Frequent  ver- 
sions have,  also,  been  made  of  it,  in  English.  The  well- 
known  hymn, 

"  Veni,  Creator  Spiritus,"  etc., 

has  by  Mono,  and  others,  been  ascribed  to  Gregory ;  but 
more  properly  is  referred  to  Rabanus  Maueus  (q.  v.). 


JOSEPH  GRIGG. 

1720  (?)-1768. 

The  following  account  of  Mr.  Grigg  is  taken  from  Wil- 
son's "History  and  Antiquities  of  Dissenting  Churches 
and  Meeting  Houses,  in  London,  Westminster,  and  South- 
wark,  including  the  Lives  of  their  Ministers,  four  Volumes  ; 
London,  1810  ":— 

"After  the  removal  of  Mr.  Gibbons,  Mr.  Joseph  Greig 
was,  for  a  short  time,  assistant  to  Mr.  Bures,  at  Silver 
Street ;  but,  upon  the  death  of  the  latter,  he  retired  from 
this  service.  Mr.  Greig  married  a  lady  with  considerable 
property,  the  widow  of  Colonel  Drew.  After  this,  he  re- 
tired to  St.  Albans,  and  lived  upon  his  estate,  without  any 
ministerial  charge ;  but  he  assisted  his  brethren  occasion- 
ally, and  preached  most  frequently  for  Dr.  Fordyce.  Mr. 
Greig  died,  we  believe,  at  Walthamstow,  on  the  29th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1768.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  talents,  pos- 
sessed of  a  lively  genius,  and  had  a  turn  for  poetry.  The 
late  Mr.  Joseph  Fawcett,  the  pulpit  orator,  was  his 
nephew." 

Very  little  further  information,  after  considerable  re- 
search, has  been  obtained  of  the  particular  incidents  of 
Mr.  Grigg's  life.     Dr.  Belcher  speaks  of  him  as  having 


JOSEPH  GEIGG.  277 

been,  in  youth,  "a  laboring  mechanic."  Mr.  Gibbons, 
afterwards  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Gibbons,  left  Silver 
Street  Church,  in  October,  1743 ;  and  Mr.  Thomas  Bures, 
the  pastor  of  the  church,  died  in  October,  1747.  It  was, 
therefore,  about  four  years  (1743-1747)  that  Mr.  Grigg  held 
this  position.  Two  of  his  hymns  ate  dated,  1744,  and  1745, 
respectively,  and  were  written,  consequently,  during  his 
London  ministry.  He  was,  of  course,  a  Dissenter,  as  the 
Silver  Street  Church  was  of  the  Presbyterian  order. 

He  published  (1756)  a  Fast  Sermon,  "  On  the  Threatened 
Invasion  of  1756,"  appending  a  hymn  of  five  stanzas,  exhibit- 
mg  considerable  poetic  power.  The  same  year,  several  of  his 
productions  appeared  in  Elizabeth  Harrison's  "  Miscellanies 
on  Moral  and  Religious  Subjects  in  Prose  and  Verse." 
Nothing  is  heard  from  him  after  this  until  1765,  when  he 
published,  anonymously,  a  Tract,  with  the  title,— "Four 
hymns  on  Divine  Subjects,  wherein  the  Patience  and  Love 
of  our  Divine  Saviour  is  displayed."  The  same  year,  and 
the  next,  he  contributed  twelve  hymns  to  the  Christian's 
Magazine. 

In  a  volume  of  "  Poems  on  Various  Subjects,  chiefly  Sa- 
cred :  By  the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Greene,  of  Ware,  Hertford- 
shire ;  London,  1780,"  is  found  an  Elegy,  "  On  the  Death 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  G— g,"  written  in  1768,  and  containing 
forty  lines,  commemorative  of  his  virtues.  Mr.  Greene 
says : 

"  What  melanclioly  news  is  this  I  hear  ? — 
News,  that  demands  a  tributary  tear : 
The  pious  Gregg  has  bid  our  world  adieu, 
Who  long  dispensed  delight  and  profit  too. 
Death  has,  in  silence,  sealed  th'  instructive  tongue, 
That  used  to  captivate  the  listening  throng; 
No  more  he  stands  to  plead  a  Savioiir's  Name, 
And  these  cold  hearts  of  ours  with  love  inflame ; 
No  more  he  shows  the  path  where  duty  lies, — 
That  path  of  pleasui'e  leading  to  the  skies. 

Now  he  enjoys  that  ever-growing  bliss 
Which  used  to  move  those  preaching  lips  of  his ; 
Now  he  can  sing  till  countless  years  are  fled 
Without  his  old  complaint—'  Alas !  my  head ! ' " 


278  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

It  is  probable,  that  the  allusion  in  the  last  line  discloses 
the  cause  of  his  declining  a  pastoral  charge.  Report,  how- 
ever, makes  him  a  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  at  Wal- 
thamstow  (near  London),  where  he  died.  A  sixpenny  tract 
was  published  in  1806,  entitled,  "  Hymns  [19]  by  the  late 
Rev.  Joseph  Grigg,  Stourbridge."  This  is  the  only  intima- 
tion of  his  having  had  any  connection  with  that  village, — 
in  Worcestershire. 

Mr.  Daniel  Sedgwick,  of  London,  among  his  Reprints  of 
English  Hymn- Writers  and  their  Hymns,  issued  an  edition 
of  Grigg's  "  HjTuns  [40]  on  Divine  Subjects,"  with  his  "  Se- 
rious Poems  "  [17]  and  a  "  Sketch  of  the  Author."  The  fa- 
miliar hymn,  beginning  with 

"  Behold !  a  stranger  's  at  the  door," 

in  the  original,  contains  eleven  stanzas,  of  which  the  first 
four,  the  eighth,  and  the  ninth  are  generally  retained.  In 
the  Gospel  Magazine^  for  April,  1774,  appeared  five  stanzas 
of  his  popular  hymn, 

"Jesus!  and  shall  it  ever  be,"  etc., 

with  the  heading, — "  Shame  of  Jesus  conquered  by  Love. 
By  a  Youth  of  Ten  Years."  The  original  (written  probably 
about  1730)  contains  seven  stanzas.  Six  of  these,  with  an 
added  stanza,  appeared  (1787)  in  Rippon's  Selection,  where 
the  hymn  is  ascribed  to  "  Gregg.  Altered  by  B.  Francis." 
It  is  this  altered  form  (the  added  stanza  omitted)  that  is 
now  in  common  use. 
His  Fast-Day  Hymn  (1756)  is  subjoined : 

"Shake,  Britain!  like  an  aspen,  shake! 
Behold  thine  all,  all,  all 's  at  stake ! 
Lo  vice  in  arms !  thy  potent  foe : 
Not  France  can  strike  so  sure  a  blow. 

"By  more  than  Jonah  warned,  beware  1 
Yet  let  not  Nineveh  despair; 
Melt,  every  heart !  stream,  every  eye ! 
Such  penitence  shall  melt  the  sky. 


AECHER  THOMPSON  GUENEY.        279 

**  Vice,  at  the  sight,  shall  faint  away: 
And  virtue,  smiling,  chide  dismay : 
Still  France  might  rage  our  Isle  to  gain, 
But  hell  should  help  our  foes  in  vain. 

*'  Plenty  shall  crown  the  holy  land. 
And  crown  it  for  no  foreign  hand; 
The  British  bom  shall  die  as  free, 
And  slaves  and  tyrants  die  to  see. 

"Britain  shall  feel,  and  feeling  own 
God  is  her  shield,  and  God  alone ; 
Ajid  heart  and  voice  and  life  shall  sing 
To  God,  the  univei*sal  Eang." 


ARCHER  THOMPSON  GURNEY. 

1820 . 

Mr.  Gueney  is  an  Englishman  of  a  good  family.  Fa- 
vored with  a  good  education,  he  studied  for  the  law,  and 
was  for  some  years  a  banister  of  the  Middle  Temple.  At 
an  early  age,  he  appeared  in  print  as  a  worshipper  of  the 
Muses.  His  "  Faust :  a  Tragedy.  Part  II.  Rendered 
from  the  Original  German  of  Goethe,"  was  published  in 
1842  ;  and  "  Love's  Legend,  etc.:  Poems,"  in  1845.  "  King 
Charles,  the  First :  a  Dramatic  Poem  in  Five  Acts,"  blank- 
verse,  written  in  true  cavalier  style,  and  much  commended 
by  the  Ritualists,  appeared  in  1846.  A  second  edition 
came  out  in  1852. 

His  tastes  at  length  led  him  to  abandon  the  law  for  divin- 
ity. After  a  brief  course  of  study,  he  was  ordained,  by  the 
Bishop  of  Exeter,  October  21, 1849,  a  deacon;  and,  September 
22, 1850,  a  priest.  He  was  appointed  one  of  the  Bodleian 
Lecturers  at  Exeter.  In  March,  1852,  he  became  the  Curate 
of  St.  Mary,  Crown  Street,  Soho  Square,  London.     Having, 


280  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUEOH. 

also,  served  as  Curate  at  Buckingliam,  for  four  years,  lie 
was  appointed  (1858)  Chaplain  of  the  Englisli  congrega- 
tion, Cour  des  Coches,  Paris,  where  he  continued  for  twelve 
years,  resigning  the  post  in  1870. 

His  publications  have  been  frequent.  Since  his  ordina- 
tion to  the  ministry,  he  has  sent  forth :  "  Poems,  Sj)ring  " 
(1853);  "The  Transcendentalists "  (1853);  "Songs  of  the 
Present "  (1854) ;  "  Iphigenia  at  Delphi,"  a  tragedy  (1855)  • 
"The  Ode  of  Peace"  (1855);  "Songs  of  Early  Summer" 
(1856);  "Absolution,  its  Use  and  Abuse"  (1858);  "Ser- 
mons at  Paris"  (1860);  "Gideon"  (1860);  "Restoration, 
or  The  Completion  of  the  Reformation"  (1861) ;  "A  Book 
of  Praise  "  (1862) ;  and  "  Reasons  for  Living  and  Dying  in 
the  Communion  of  the  Church  of  England."  In  his  "  Book 
of  Praise,"  appeared  147  of  his  own  hymns.  Eight  of  his 
hymns  were  included  (1865)  in  Shipley's  "  Lyra  Messianica." 

His  hymn  on  "  The  Two  Advents,"  of  which  all  but  the 
last  stanza  is  subjoined,  fairly  exhibits  his  style : 

"  Thanks  and  praise  and  joy  and  blessing 
Yield  we,  Lord !  for  thy  dear  Word ; 
There  the  key  of  life  possessing, 
Hear  we  all  that  prophets  heard, 

All  that  sages 
Sought  with  eager  hope  deferred, 

"  They,  with  longing  expectation, 
Hailed  the  advent  of  their  King; 
"We  receive  that  glad  salvation, 
And  with  joyous  hearts  we  sing — 

'Alleluia! 
Death  in  him  hath  lost  its  sting  1 ' 

"But  a  wondrous  consummation 
We  await  in  faith  sincere, 
When,  with  mighty  acclamation, 
Radiant  legions  shall  ai^pear 

Round  the  presence. 
And  our  God  descends  to  cheer." 


JOHN  HAMPDEN  GUENEY.  281 

JOHN  HAMPDEN  GURNEY. 

1802-1862. 

Me.  Gueney  was  an  eminently  useful  minister  of  the 
Churcli  of  England,  of  evangelical  sympathies.  He  was 
the  eldest  son  of  Sir  John  Gurney,  one  of  the  Barons  of 
the  Court  of  Exchequer.  He  was  born,  August  15, 1802,  in 
Serjeants'  Inn,  Fleet  Street,  London.  As  might  have  been 
expected  from  his  father's  position,  he  was  trained  for  the 
law,  and  educated  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  He  grad- 
uated, A.B.,  in  1824,  and  A.M.,  in  1828. 

Having  devoted  himself  to  the  Church,  Mr.  Gurney  was, 
in  1827,  ordained  a  deacon ;  and,  in  1828,  a  priest.  He  first 
served  as  a  ciurate  to  the  Rev.  Robert  Henry  Johnson,  Rec- 
tor of  Lutterworth,  Leicestershire.  In  the  cradle  of  the 
Reformation,  where  John  Wicklifle  (1324-1387)  preached 
the  Gospel,  died  and  was  buried,  he  chose,  notwithstanding 
several  flattering  offers  of  settlement,  to  remain,  making 
full  proof  of  his  ministry,  seventeen  years. 

At  length,  in  1844,  he  accepted  the  district  rectory  of  St. 
Mary's,  Marylebone,  London,  and  held  it  till  death,  though 
offered  the  rectory  of  the  mother  church.  Blessed  with 
affluence,  he  employed  his  wealth  in  munificent  contribu- 
tions to  the  cause  of  his  Lord  and  Master.  He  took  a 
prominent  part  in  Tract,  Bible,  and  Missionary  Associa- 
tions, and  showed  a  most  commendable  public  spirit  in  ad- 
vancing the  welfare  of  the  people.  He  brought  with  him 
from  Lutterworth,  and  displayed  throughout  his  ministry 
in  London,  an  untiring  activity  and  energy,  together  with 
a  glowing  zeal  for  the  promotion  and  extension  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom. 

He  prepared,  in  1851,  a  compilation  of  "Psalms  and 
Hymns  for  Public  Worship,  selected  for  some  of  the 
churches  in  Marylebone,"  to  which  he  contributed  thirteen 
hymns  from  his  own  pen,  of  such  excellence  as  to  cause  re- 
gret that  he  had  not  more  frequently  exercised  his  poetic 


282  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

gifts.  In  1853,  lie  published  "  Cliurcli  Psalmody :  Hints 
for  the  Improvement  of  a  Collection  of  Hymns,  published 
by  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,"  of 
whose  Committee  he  was  an  active  member.  His  principal 
literary  work  was  a  First,  Second,  and  Third  Series  of 
"  Historical  Sketches  "  (1852, 1855, 1858).  In  each  of  the 
years,  1845, 1856,  1857, 1858,  he  published  a  small  volume 
of  Sermons.  "The  Grand  Romish  Fallacy"  appeared  in 
1854;  "Grave  Thoughts,"  etc.,  in  1855;  and  his  "Chapters 
from  French  History,"  in  1862. 

He  died,  greatly  lamented,  March  8,  1862.  On  the  occa- 
sion of  his  burial,  the  excellency  of  his  private  character, 
and  his  great  public  services  as  a  clergyman,  were  highly 
commended  in  a  sermon  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  M.  Goul- 
burn,  the  Master  of  Rugby  School,  and,  since  1866,  Dean 
of  NorAvich.  "  The  Pastor's  Last  Words,  being  the  last 
Four  Sermons  preached  by  John  H.  Gurney,"  came  out 
soon  after  his  decease. 

The  following  are  the  first  four  stanzas  of  a  hymn  consist- 
ing of  six  stanzas  in  the  original : 

* '  Yes,  Grod  is  good ;  in  earth  and  sky, 

From  ocean-depths  and  spreading  wood. 
Ten  thousand  voice's  seem  to  cry, — 
'  God  made  us  all,  and  God  is  good.' 

"  The  sun  that  keeps  his  trackless  way, 
And  downward  pours  his  golden  flood, 
Night's  sparkling  hosts,  all  seem  to  say, 
In  accents  clear,  that  God  is  good. 

*'  The  merry  hirds  prolong  the  strain,— 
Their  song  with  every  spring  renewed ; 
And  bahny  air,  and  falHng  rain. 
Each  softly  whispers, — '  God  is  good.' 

"I  hear  it  in  the  rushing  breeze; 
The  hills  that  have  for  ages  stood, 
The  echoing  sky  and  roariag  seas. 
All  swell  the  chorus,—'  God  is  good.' " 


JEANNE  MAEIE  BOUVIER  DE  LA  MOTTE  GUYON.    283 

JEANNE  MARIE  BOUVIER  DE  LA  MOTTE 
GUYON. 

1648-1717. 

The  poet  Cowper  was  requested  (1783)  by  Ms  friend,  the 
Rev.  William  Bull,  to  put  a  few  of  Madame  Guyon's  "  Les 
Cantiques  Spirituels"  "into  an  English  dress."  It  served 
to  amuse  the  poet,  in  his  chronic  melancholy,  and  made  the 
English  world  acquainted  with  something  of  the  glowing 
enthusiasm  of  this  remarkable  lover  of  Jesus. 

Madame  Guyon  was  born,  April  13, 1648,  at  Montargis, 
France.  Her  father,  Claude  Bouvier,  was  the  Lord  Pro- 
prietor of  La  Motte  Vergonville.  She  exhibited,  from  her 
earliest  years,  the  most  serious  inclinations,  resulting  in  a 
strong  desire  to  enter  a  convent.  But  she  was  overruled 
by  her  parents,  and  given  in  marriage,  March,  1664,  before 
she  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  to  Jacques  Guyon, — a  man 
twenty-two  years  her  senior,  and  every  way  uncongenial. 
Her  piety  was  tried  severely  in  the  school  of  affliction. 
Two  of  her  live  children  died  in  infancy.  Her  beauty 
was  marred  by  small-pox,  six  years  after  her  marriage. 
On  her  recovery,  she  subjected  herself  to  great  religious 
austerities  and  mortifications.  Her  husband  died,  July  21, 
1676,  and  she  devoted  herself,  with  remarkable  energy  and 
discretion,  to  the  care  of  her  estate,  and  the  education  of 
her  three  children.  The  latter  object  led  her  to  Paris  in 
1680. 

Through  the  correspondence  of  M.  Lacombe,  a  Bamabite 
priest,  she  was  led  to  entertain  more  cheerful  views  of  re- 
ligion, and  to  make  an  unreserved  consecration  of  her  aU  to 
the  glory  of  God.  Having  provided  for  two  of  her  children, 
she  took  the  other  with  her  to  Geneva.  At  the  instance 
of  D'Arenthon,  Bishop  of  Annecy,  she  took  up  her  abode 
(July,  1681)  in  a  religious  house  at  Gex,  France,  near  Ge- 
neva, and  engaged  in  mission  work  among  the  Protestants 
of  that  province.    Her  refusal  to  endow  the  house,  with  what 


284  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

property  remained  to  her,  provoked  the  Bishop,  and  caused 
her  withdi-awal,  after  an  eight  months'  residence,  to  Tho- 
non,  the  monastic  residence  of  Lacombe,  who  had  become 
her  confessor.  She  resided  successively,  at  Turin,  Gre- 
noble, Marseilles,  Nice,  Genoa,  Yercelli,  and  then  at  Gre- 
noble again ;  everywhere  giving  instruction  in  her  pecu- 
liar views,  and  gaining  numerous  adherents.  She  returned 
(1686)  to  Paris,  after  five  years'  absence,  during  which  she 
had  wiitten,  "  Les  Torrents  Spirituels  "  and  "  Moyen  court 
et  tres  facile  pour  I'Oraison,"  explanatory  of  her  special 
tenets  in  respect  to  the  "Prayer  of  Silence"  and  "Quiet- 
ism" in  general.  About  this  time,  also,  she  wrote,  and 
soon  after  published,  her  "  Explication  Mystique  du  Can- 
tique  des  Cantiques." 

At  Paris,  she  became  an  object  of  great  interest,  and  was 
sought  out  by  the  Duchess  of  Beauvilliers,  the  Duchess  of 
Bethune,  the  Countess  of  Guiche,  the  Duchess  of  Chev- 
reuse,  and  others,  who  encouraged  her  in  holding  frequent 
gatherings  for  prayer  and  conversation.  But  persecution 
followed  her  here  as  well  as  abroad.  In  January,  1688,  she 
was  imprisoned  in  the  convent  of  the  "  Filles  de  la  Visi- 
tation," Paris.  At  the  expiration  of  eight  months,  she 
was  released,  at  the  intercession  of  Madame  Maintenon, 
who,  shortly  after,  with  Fenelon,  the  renowned  Archbishop 
of  Cambray,  became  a  great  admirer  of  her  doctrine,  and 
gave  her  a  retreat  in  a  Ladies'  Institution  that  she  had  es- 
tablished at  St.  Cyr.  Here  she  wrote  an  apology  for  her 
"Short  and  Easy  Method  of  Prayer";  but  its  publication 
stirred  up  her  adversaries  anew.  At  the  suggestion  of  sev- 
eral of  her  best  friends,  she  now  submitted  her  books  to  the 
judgment  of  Bossuet,  the  eloquent  bishop  of  Meaux.  A  royal 
commission,  consisting  of  Bossuet,  Bishop  (afterwards  Car- 
dinal) Noailles,  Trouson,  Superior-General  of  the  St.  Sul- 
pice  Brothers,  and  Fenelon,  was  ordered  (1694)  to  try  her 
case. 

The  major  part  of  the  commission  condemned  numerous 
portions  of  her  writings  ;  and,  in  1695,  she  was  again  incar- 
cerated, first  in  the  Castle  of  Vincennes,  then  in  the  Con- 


JEANNE  MAEIE  BOUVIER  DE  LA  MOTTE  GUYON.     285 

vent  of  the  Ladies  of  St.  Thomas  of  Vaurigard,  and,  in 
1698,  in  the  Bastille.  During  the  rigors  of  her  imprison- 
ments, which  lasted  nearly  seven  years,  and  to  alleviate  her 
severe  sufferings,  she  wrote,  at  intervals,  the  most  of  her 
"Poesies  et  Cantiques  Spirituels,"  which  were  published 
after  her  decease.  In  the  Convocation  of  the  Clergy,  at  St. 
Germain-en-Laye,  in  1700,  her  innocence  of  criminal  con- 
duct, charged  upon  her  by  her  enemies,  was  estabHshed ; 
and,  in  1702,  she  was  released  from  the  Bastille,  and  per- 
mitted to  retire  to  the  home  of  her  children  at  Diziers. 
The  last  twelve  years  of  her  life  were  spent  in  acts  of  piety, 
and  in  the  cultivation  of  an  all-absorbing  divine  love,  at  the 
city  of  Blois,  ndar  the  residence  of  her  children.  She  died 
in  the  full  exercise  of  this  love,  and  in  the  experience  of 
unspeakable  joy,  June  9, 1717,  in  her  seventieth  year. 

Besides  the  works  already  specified,  she  wrote  20  vols,  of 
"Explanations  and  Reflexions  in  respect  to  the  Interior 
Life,"  on  "The  Books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament." 
Also,  a  volume  of  "Christian  and  Spiritual  Discourses," 
and  3  vols,  of  her  "  Autobiography."  Four  volumes  of  her 
"Lettres  Chretiennes,"  were  included  in  her  "Works" 
posthumously  published. 

Prof.  Thomas  C.  Upham,  D.D.,  of  Brunswick,  Me.,  pub- 
lished, in  2  volumes.  New  York,  1847,  her  "Life,  and  Re- 
ligious Opinions  and  Experience,"  in  warm  admiration  of 
her  eminent  spirituality  and  the  perfection  of  her  "  Interior 
Life."  The  spirit  and  style  of  her  "Spiritual  Songs"  are 
well  set  forth  in  Cowper's  translation  of  the  95th  "Can- 
tique"  of  her  second  volume.  It  is  entitled,— "  Aspira- 
tions of  the  Soul  after  God"  : 

"  My  Spouse !  in  whose  presence  I  live, 

Sole  object  of  all  my  desires, 
Who  know'st  what  a  flame  I  conceiye, 

And  canst  easily  double  its  fires ; 
How  pleasant  is  all  that  I  meet ! 

From  fear  of  adversity  free, 
I  find  even  sorrow  made  sweet, 

Because  'tis  assigned  me  by  thee. 


286  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Transported  I  see  thee  display 

Thy  riches  and  glory  divine ; 
I  have  only  my  life  to  repay, 

Take  what  I  would  gladly  resign : 
Thy  will  is  the  treasure  I  seek, 

For  thou  art  as  f aithf til  as  strong ; 
Thex'e  let  me,  obedient  and  meek, 

Eepose  myself  all  the  day  long. 

"  My  spirit  and  faculties  fail; 

Oh !  finish  what  Love  has  begim ; 
Destroy  what  is  sinful  and  frail, 

And  dwell  in  the  soul  thou  hast  won; 
Dear  Theme  of  my  wonder  and  praise ! 

I  cry, — ^Who  is  worthy  as  thou  ?i 
I  can  only  be  silent  and  gaze ; 

'Tis  all  that  is  left  to  me  now. 

**  Oh!  glory,  in  which  I  am  lost. 

Too  deep  for  the  plummet  of  thought ! 
On  an  ocean  of  deity  tossed, 

I  am  swallowed,  I  sink  into  nought: 
Yet,  lost  and  absorbed  as  I  seem, 

I  chant  to  the  praise  of  my  King ; 
And,  though  overwhelmed  by  the  theme, 

Am  happy  whenever  I  sing." 


CHRISTOPHER  NEWMAN"  HALL. 

1816 . 

Newmais-  Hall,  the  people's  preacher,  was  bom,  May 
22,  1816,  at  Maidstone,  on  the  Medway,  Kent,  England. 
His  parents,  John  Vine  Hall,  and  Mary  Teverill,  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Independent  Church  under  the  care  of  the  Rev. 
Edmund  Jenkins.  When  Newman  was  five  years  old,  his 
father  became  widely  kno^vn  by  the  publication  of  an  ex- 
ceedingly popular  and  useful  tract,  caUed  "The  Sinner's 


CHEISTOPHER  NEWMAN  HALL.  287 

Friend."  A  letter  from  a  younger  sister,  at  a  later  period, 
was  the  immediate  occasion  of  bringing  the  son  to  a  saving 
knowledge  of  the  Gospel. 

He  was  educated  at  the  grammar-school  of  Totteridge, 
Hertfordshire,  and  at  Highbury  CoUege,  London,  gradu- 
ating, A.B.,  at  the  London  University,  in  1841.     He  ob- 
tained the  Law- Scholarship  of  the  University,  and  took 
the  degree  of  LL.B.,  in  1856.     Having  accepted  (1842)  a 
call  to  the  new  Albion  Chapel  (Independent)  at  Hull,  he 
was  ordained,  July  13,  1842 ;  and,  shortly  after,  married  a 
daughter  of  William  Gordon,  M.D.,  of  HuU.    He  entered, 
with  characteristic  energy,  into  the  work  of  gathering  souls 
into  the  garner  of  his  Lord,  and  with  remarkable  success. 
While  at  HuU,  he  wrote,  and.  May  9, 1848,  pubHshed,  that 
stirring  Baxterian  tract,  caUed,— "  Come  to  Jesus,"  of  which 
milUons  of  copies,  in  about  thirty  different  languages,  have 
been  circulated,  resulting  in  the  salvation  of  multitudes. 
^  On  the  death  of  his  father-in-law,  February,  1849,  he  pub- 
lished "  The  Christian  Philosopher  triumphing  over  Death : 
A  Nan-ative  of  the  Closing  Scenes  of  the  Life  of  the  late 
William  Gordon,  M.D.,  F.L.S."    After  a  visit  to  the  Con- 
tinent in  the  spring  of  1853,  he  published  (1854)  "The 
Land  of  the  Forum  and  the  Vatican ;  or.  Thoughts  and 
Sketches  during  an  Easter  Pilgrimage  to  Rome." 

In  the  summer  of  the  following  year  (July  2, 1854),  he 
succeeded  the  Rev.  James  Sherman,  as  pastor  of  Surrey 
Chapel,  Blackfriars'  Road,  London,— widely  known  by  the 
incumbency  of  the  eccentric  Rowland  Hill.  Here  he  la- 
bored many  years  with  the  most  exemplary  zeal,  activity, 
and  energy,  as  weU  as  masterly  abiUty,  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  great  work  of  evangelizing  the  London  poor.  He 
instituted  and  sustained  a  system  of  out-door,  as  well  as 
in-door  preachings,  lectures,  pastoral  visitations,  and  other 
religious  and  benevolent  agencies,  that  made  SuiTey  Chapel 
a  radiating  centre  of  mighty  influences  for  good  to  London 
and  the  whole  kingdom. 

After  the  example  of  his  two  predecessors,  HiU  and 
Sherman,  he  prepared  and  published  (1857)  a  Hymn-Book 


288  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

for  Surrey  Cliapel,  with  the  following  dutiful  Dedication 
to  his  revered  mother,  then  in  her  seventieth  year : 

' '  Mother !  to  thee,  of  right,  this  book  belongs : 

For,  seated  on  thy  knee,  an  infant  weak, 

With  hsping  tongue,  I  learned  from  thee  to  speak 
'  In  psalms  and  hymns  and  spmtual  songs. ' 

Oft  didst  thou  stroke  my  head  and  kiss  my  cheek, 
And  weep  for  joy  to  hear  thy  child  repeat 

How  the  good  Shepherd  came  from  heaven  to  seek 
His  wandering  lambs,  and  how  his  hands  and  feet 

Were  pierced  with  nails ;  while  he,  the  suflFerer  meek, 
Prayed  for  his  foes,  then  mounted  to  his  throne. 
With  themes  like  these  my  years  have  still  upgrown, 

Thi'ough  thy  persuasive  teaching,  tender  care, 

Thine  and  a  loving  father's  life  of  prayer. 
The  book  I  offer  thee  is  thus  thine  own." 

He  prepared,  also,  a  book  of  "  Seventy  Scripture  Chants," 
for  the  use  of  his  congregation.  His  father  died,  Septem- 
ber 22, 1860,  and,  in  1865,  Newman  published,  "  Hope  for 
the  Hopeless :  An  Autobiography  of  John  Vine  Hall,  Au- 
thor of  'The  Sinner's  Friend.' " 

He  was  honored,  in  1866,  with  the  degree  of  D.D.,  by 
Middlebury  College,  Yt. ;  and  the  same  year,  he  was  chosen 
the  Chainnan  of  the  Congregational  Union  of  England 
and  Wales.  He  visited  the  United  States  in  1867,  meet- 
ing with  a  cordial  reception ;  and,  in  1873,  he  repeated  the 
visit. 

Some  years  since,  the  ground  lease  of  Surrey  Chapel  hav- 
ing expired,  the  congregation  put  up  a  new  building  on 
Westminster  Bridge  Road,  called  Christ  Church,  where 
Mr.  Hall  still  ministers.  Tlie  tower  of  the  new  church 
bears  the  name  of  Lincoln  Tower,  in  recognition  of  the 
contributions  from  American  friends. 

In  addition  to  the  works  already  named,  he  published 
(1857)  in  opposition  to  F.  D.  Maurice,  a  volume  on  "  Sac- 
rifice, or  Pardon  and  Purity  through  the  Cross";  also,  a 
volume  of  sermons,  entitled  "Homeward  Bound";  "Notes 
of  a  Journey  from  Liverpool  to  St.  Louis";  and  (1871)  a 


WILLIAM  HAMMOND.  289 

volume  of  poetry,  called,  "  Pilgrim  Songs  in  Clond  and 
Sunshine."  An  ardent  opposer  of  Intemperance,  lie  has 
printed  several  small  works  on  "Teetotalism";  and  has, 
also,  contributed  frequently  to  the  various  religious  period- 
icals of  the  day. 


WILLIAM  HAMMOND. 
1783. 

Of  the  early  life  and  nativity  of  Mr.  Hammond,  almost 
nothing  is  left  on  record.  He  entered  St.  John's  CoUege, 
Cambridge,  in  1735,  and  graduated,  A.B.,  in  1739.  In 
the  Preface  to  his  book  of  "Hymns,"  written  in  1745, 
he  says :  "  I  have  been  in  great  bondage  and  captivity 
myself  (it  is  now  about  five  years  since  the  Lord  set  my 
soul  at  liberty)  and  therefore  I  can  sympathize  with  those 
who  are  in  that  miserable  condition.  The  hymns  of  this 
kind  were  mostly  written  from  my  own  experience."  It 
was  in  1740,  therefore,  that  he  came  into  the  full  experience 
of  the  saving  grace  of  the  Gospel,  probably  under  the 
preaching  of  Whitefield,  with  whose  connection  he  now 
identified  himself,  and  under  whose  auspices  he  began  to 
preach.  During  the  next  five  years,  he  exercised  his  min- 
istry at  Cambridge,  Bristol,  London,  and  elsewhere. 

He  published,  in  1744,  "Medulla  Ecclesi?e";  reprinted  in 
1779,  with  an  Introduction,  by  Wm.  Mason,  the  Author  of 
"The  Spiritual  Treasury";  and  reissued.  New  York,  1816, 
with  the  title, — "  The  Marrow  of  the  Church:  The  Doctrines 
of  Christ's  Righteousness  Imputed,  and  Regeneration  fairly 
stated  and  clearly  demonstrated  from  the  Homilies,  Arti- 
cles, and  Liturgies  of  the  Church  of  England Being 

the  Substance  of  several  Discourses  delivered  at  Cambridge, 
Bristol,  etc."  In  the  Preface,  he  intimates,  that  once  he 
19 


290  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

had  been  "in  great  doubt  and  concern  about  the  Trin- 
ity." 

The  next  year  (1745)  he  published,  at  London,  a  volume 
of  "  Psalms,  Hymns,  and  Spiritual  Songs,"  containing  161 
hymns,  some  of  them  of  considerable  length,  and  much 
above  the  hymnology  of  the  period,  "  Nothing,"  he  says, 
"  but  the  importunity  of  Christian  friends,  and  a  desu-e  to 
edify  the  Church  of  Christ,  extorted  these  hymns  from 
me."  Four  highly  practical  Sermons  are  appended  to  the 
volume.     His  hymns  beginning 

"  Lord  !  we  come  before  tliee  now," 
and 

"  Awake  and  sing  the  song," 

are  universal  favorites. 

During  these  early  years  of  his  ministry,  he  was  associ- 
ated with  the  Rev.  John  Cennick,  with  whom  he  subse- 
quently became  attached  to  the  Moravian  Connection — 
"The  United  Brethren."  Gadsby  says,  that  "he  wrote 
his  autobiography  in  Greek,  but  it  was  never  published." 
It  ought  to  be  recovered,  if  possible ;  as  it  would,  doubt- 
less, supply  the  missing  links  in  his  history.  He  died,  at 
an  advanced  age,  in  1783,  and  his  remains  were  interred  in 
the  Moravian  burying-ground,  Chelsea,  London,  on  the  an- 
cient estate  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  subsequently  the  Duke  of 
Beaufort's.  Of  his  later  ministry,  no  record  has  been  ob- 
tained. 

The  stanzas  that  follow  are  from  a  hymn  of  twelve  stan- 
zas, on  Heb.  x.  22 : 

"Now  prepare  your  hearts  to  smg 
Glory  to  our  God  and  King ; 
Now  a  shout  of  triumph  raise, 
Fill  the  heaven  with  Jesus'  praise. 

"Hallelujah  to  the  Lamb  ! 
All  aloud  his  love  proclaim ; 
He  for  sinners  freely  died, 
He  for  me  was  crucified. 


HENEY  HARBAUGH.  291 

"  Now  my  doubts  and  fears  are  o'er, 
I  distrust  his  grace  no  more : 
Clouds  and  storms  are  fled  away, 
I  behold  the  gospel-day. 

"Earth  below  and  heaven  above 
Wonder  at  his  boundless  love ; 
All  admire  his  grace  and  power, 
Bless  the  Lord  for  evermore." 


HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

1818-1867. 

This  eminent  scholar,  poet,  and  divine,  was  of  German 
descent.  His  great-grandfather  came  from  Switzerland,  in 
1736,  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  His  father  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Waynesborough,  Pa.,  where,  October  28, 1818,  the 
son  was  born,  and  trained.  His  advantages  of  education 
were  quite  limited,  and,  as  he  grew  up,  he  served  on  his 
father's  farm  until  his  nineteenth  year,  when  he  removed 
West,  and  learned  the  carpenter's  trade. 

Desirous  of  obtainmg  a  liberal  education,  he  taught 
school  a  few  months  in  the  winter,  and  the  remainder  of 
the  year  attended  an  academy.  He  entered  Marshall  Col- 
lege, Mercersburgh,  Pa.,  in  1840,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
pursued  the  study  of  theology.  He  came  thus  under  the 
inHuence  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  W.  Nevin,  President  of  the 
College,  and  the  originator  of  the  "  Mercersburgh  System 
of  Theology,"  which  he  heartily  adopted. 

He  entered  the  ministry  of  the  German  Reformed  Church 
in  1843,  and  was  ordained  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the 
Church  of  Lewisburgh,  Union  Co.,  Pa.  Here  he  remained 
seven  years,  and  then  (April,  1850)  became  the  pastor  of  the 
First  German  Church  of  Lancaster,  Pa.,  remaining  there 
ten  years.  In  1860,  he  took  charge  of  St.  John's  (German) 
Church,  Lebanon,  Pa.,  whence  he  was  called  (January  1, 


292  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

1864)  to  tlie  Professorsliip  of  Theology  in  tlie  Mercersburgli 
Theological  Seminary.  The  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  was 
conferred  on  him  (1860)  by  Union  College,  N.  Y.  He  died, 
December  28,  1867,  at  Mercersburgh,  Pa. 

He  was  a  diligent  and  laborious  student,  a  graceful  and 
powerful  winter.  His  contributions  to  The  Mercersburgli 
Review  and  other  periodicals  were  frequent.  In  1850,  he 
edited  The  Guardian,  a  monthly  magazine,  and  was  the 
editor  of  The  Mercersburgh  Review  at  the  time  of  his  de- 
cease. He  published :  "  Heaven ;  or  An  Earnest  and  Scrip- 
tural Inquiry  into  the  Abode  of  the  Sainted  Dead  "  (1848) ; 
"  The  Heavenly  Recognition  ;  or  An  Earnest  and  Scriptural 
Discussion  of  the  Question,  '  Will  we  know  our  Friends  in 
Heaven  ? ' "  (1851) ;  "  The  Heavenly  Home ;  or  The  Employ- 
ments and  Enjoyments  of  the  Saints  in  Heaven,"  and 
"Union  with  the  Church"  (1853);  "The  Birds  of  the  Bi- 
ble" (1854) ;  "  The  Life  of  the  Rev.  Michael  Slatter"  (1857) ; 
"  The  Fathers  of  the  German  Reformed  Church  in  Europe 
and  America  "  (1857-1858) ;  "  The  True  Glory  of  Woman, 
as  Portrayed  in  the  Beautiful  Life  of  the  Virgin  Mary," 
and  "  Plea  for  the  Lord's  Portion  of  a  Christian's  Wealth, 
in  Life  by  Gift,  in  Death  by  Will "  (1858) ;  a  choice  volume 
of  "Poems"  and  "The  Golden  Censer"  (1860);  "Hymns 
and  Chants "  (1861) ;  and  "  Christological  Theology"  (1864). 
He,  also,  contributed  the  "German  Clerical  Biography" 
to  "  McClintock's  Cyclopsedia." 

The  following  brief  poem  on  "  Matins  and  Vespers "  is 
taken  from  his  volume  of  original  "  Poems,"  published  in 
1860: 

"Pray  in  the  morning  hoiir ; — 

Grace,  like  the  light  and  dew, 
Is  richest  on  the  spirit  shed, 

When  thoughts  are  fresh  and  new: 
The  rising  sun  lights  up  the  heavens 

Before  he  shines  below ; 
So  first  on  God,  and  then  on  eai'th. 

Your  morning  thoughts  bestow. 

"Pray  in  the  evening  hour; — 
Grace,  like  the  golden  light. 


SAMUEL  YOUNG  HAEMEE.  293 

That  opens  when  the  sun  is  set, 

Will  smile  upon  the  night : 
The  light  still  lingei'S  on  the  sky, 

When  all  is  dark  below ; 
So  last  on  God,  and  not  on  earth, 

Your  evening  thoughts  bestow." 


SAMUEL  YOUNG  HARMER. 

1809 . 

Me.  Harmee  is  a  Methodist  preacher.  His  father,  Samuel 
Harmer,  belonged  to  the  Society  of  Friends ;  and  his  moth- 
er, Margaret  Young,  was  a  Presbyterian,  He  was  born,  De- 
cember 9, 1809,  at  Germantown,  Pa.  His  educational  advan- 
tages were  limited  to  the  common  school.  He  united  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1827,  and  took  an  active 
part,  for  many  years,  as  teacher  and  superintendent  in  the 
Sunday- School  of  the  church.  Having  proved  his  gifts  as 
an  exhorter,  he  was  licensed,  in  1842,  as  a  local  preacher. 
He  entered  the  itineracy  in  1847,  and,  in  April  of  that  year, 
was  ordained  a  deacon,  at  Wilmington,  Del.,  by  Bishop 
Morris.  He  exercised  his  ministry,  for  several  years,  in  and 
about  Philadelphia.  In  April,  1855,  he  was  ordained  an 
elder  by  Bishop  Scott.  He  removed  to  Iowa,  in  1857,  where 
he  has  laboriously  and  successfully  labored  in  the  ministry 
of  the  Gospel. 

The  hymn  beginning 

"  In  the  Christian's  home  in  glory," 

of  which  he  is  the  author,  was  written  (1856),  while  he  re- 
sided in  Philadelphia,  for  a  Camp-Meeting  Collection, 
which  the  Rev.  John  Gladding  was  then  compiling.  The 
Rev.  William  McDonald,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  made  some 
alterations  in  the  hymn  (accepted  by  the  author),  and  set 
the  words  to  the  music  as  now  generally  sung. 


294  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

JOSEPH  HAKT. 

1712-1768. 

Joseph  Haet,  to  whom  the  Church  is  indebted  for  many 
valuable  hymns,  was  born  (1712)  of  pious  parents,  in  Lon- 
don, England.  He  "  imbibed  the  sound  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel  from  infancy,"  and  was  often  seriously  impressed, 
even  from  childhood.  His  education  was  specially  good 
and  liberal,  enabling  him  to  become  a  classical  teacher. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  became  greatly  anxious 
about  his  spiritual  condition.  He  strove  "to  commend 
[himself]  to  God's  favor,  by  amendment  of  life,  virtuous 
resolutions,  moral  rectitude,  and  a  strict  attendance  on 
religious  ordinances."  He  fasted,  prayed,  and  wept;  but 
was  often  brought  into  bondage  by  fleshly  lusts.  Seven 
years  were  passed  in  this  manner,  before  he  obtained  a 
hope  of  forgiveness. 

A  relapse  followed.  Giving  way  to  pride  and  self-con- 
ceit, he  adopted  extreme  Antinomian  views,  and  indulged 
in  gross  sensuality  and  vice.  "For,"  he  says,  "having,  as 
I  imagined,  obtained  by  Christ  a  Liberty  of  sinning,  I  was 
resolved  to  make  use  of  it ;  and  thought  the  more  I  could 

sin  without  remorse,  the  greater  hero  I  was  in  faith In 

this  abominable  state,  I  continued,  a  loose  backslider,  an 
audacious  apostate,  a  bold-faced  rebel,  for  nine  or  ten  years ; 
not  only  committing  acts  of  lewdness  myself,  but  infecting 
others  \vith  the  poison  of  my  delusions.  I  published  sev- 
eral pieces  on  different  subjects,  chiefly  translations  of  the 
ancient  heathens,  to  which  I  prefixed  Prefaces,  and  sub- 
joined Notes,  of  a  pernicious  tendency."  One  of  these 
publications  was  a  "  Translation  of  Herodian's  History  of 
his  Own  Times"  (1749). 

In  1741,  his  parents,  on  the  opening  of  Whitefield's  Tab- 
ernacle, Mooi-fields,  London,  became  stated  attendants  there. 
That  same  year,  their  son,  having  himself  become  an  oc- 
casional hearer  of  Whitefield  and  the  Wesleys,  published 


JOSEPH  HAET.  395 

a  pamphlet,  entitled,—"  The  Unreasonableness  of  Religion, 
being  Remarks  and  Animadversions  on  the  Rev.  John  Wes- 
ley's Sermon  on  Rom.  viii.  32."  Not  long  after,  he  removed 
to  Sheerness,  Kent.  Here  he  exerted  an  influence  so 
pernicious,  by  his  example  and  teachings,  that  Mr.  Will- 
iam Shrubsole,  of  the  Dock  Yard,  and  Minister  of  Bethel 
Chapel,  after  much  entreaty  prevailed  on  him  to  return  to 
London,  in  order  that  the  nuisance  might  thus  be  abated. 
At  length,  in  1751,  in  his  fortieth  year,  he  was  led  to  see 
the  enormity  of  his  principles,  and  to  abandon  his  immo- 
ralities. He  now  received  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Gospel, 
and  became  strictly  correct  in  conduct.  He  resorted  to 
daily  prayer,  and  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  in  their 
original  tongues  as  well  as  in  English.  For  five  years  he 
continued  this  course  with  no  lively  sense  of  divine  love. 
Two  years  of  despondency  followed.  All  this  while  he  was 
an  attendant  of  the  Tabernacle  and  Tottenham  Court 
Road  Chapel.  A  sermon  on  Rev.  iii.  10,  that  he  heard  on 
Whit-Sunday,  1757,  at  the  Moravian  Chapel  in  Fetter  Lane, 
brought  light  and  grace  to  his  soul,  and  put  a  happy  end 
to  his  life-long  perplexities. 

He  now  became  a  thorough  convert,  a  consistent  and 
happy  Christian.  He  entered  upon,  and  continued  to  the 
end  to  live,  a  new  life  to  the  glory  of  God.  He  had  long 
been  accustomed  to  write  in  verse.  He  delighted  now  in 
the  composition  of  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  expressive 
of  his  new  experience.  In  the  spring  of  1759,  he  published 
119  "  Hymns,  etc.,  composed  on  Various  Subjects,  with  a 
Preface,  containing  a  Brief  Account  of  the  Author's  Expe- 
rience, and  the  Great  Things  that  God  hath  done  for  his 
Soul."  A  second  edition,  with  a  "  Supplement "  of  82  ad- 
ditional hymns  and  7  doxologies,  was  published  in  1762. 
The  fourth  edition  (1765)  contained,  also,  an  "Appendix" 
of  13  hymns. 

Numerous  editions  of  this  book  have  been  published. 
An  American  edition  was  printed  (1798)  by  Shepard  Kol- 
loch,  Elizabeth  Town,  N.  J.  It  has  been  highly  extolled 
and  prized  by  distinguished  preachers.     The  Rev.  John 


«0«  TUK  rOK'l'S  OF  THE  CllUKCll. 

TowtM's,  his  sufcossor  in  tlu>  minivstry,  snys  of  if, — '' TToivin 
lli(»  tlorhiiu^s  of  (lu>(}ospt>l  :\vo  illus(r:i((Hl  so  prat'ticnlly, 
tho  prtH'(>p(s  of  [\\c  word  v\\['o\\\\\  so  t^vangvlionlly,  nud 
tluMr  t»n\H'(s  staUnl  so  t^xpiMlnuMitally,  that  with  ]U't>prioty 
it  may  ho  styhni  a  tn^asury  o^  iloclrinal,  practical,  and  t^x- 
p(Mimrntal  divinity."  ll  is  ustnl  oxtousivoly  to  tiiis  day  in 
sonit*  parts  of  Knuhnid.  A  fow  o(  his  hymns  havo  Ivfome 
iir(>at  faM>iit(»s  ovory\vh(M\>,  ami  aiv  fonnd  in  thomost  of 
tht'  nu>il«MU  Compilations. 

"(,^MU^^  yosinnoi-s!  jHH>r  ;»iul  wivli-lu^l."  iMi-.. 

has  dono  ixood  srrvii'o,  t>vtM\v\\  hiM'(\  ospoi'ially  in  iiMivalsof 
ivli^ii'ion.  Tho  i>assion  hymn,  tho  tM^lith  stan/.;i  of  whii'ii 
bouins  \\\{\\ 

"  M;uiv  wivs  h:i(l  (.""hrisl  oihIiuxhI,"' 

has  ih(^  riu;:,-  o(  tho  nuMiianal  Lniin  hymns,  fnll  o(  poni- 
tt>ni'<\  failh.  aiul  \\o\\  irnst  in  Iho  bhvdini;:  Lamb  c>f  (Kxl. 
It  has  (\\(Mil\   tluoo  stanzas  in  th(»  original. 

■'(.\>nn\  llolv  S|>iril  I  oomo."  oto.. 

\^nino  stan/as  in  \\\o  orii^-inal^  was.  donbth^ss,  snggvstod  by 

■■  \"oin,  Ss'UuMi  t^piritus,"  oto,, 

i\\o  pnninotion  of  Kobort  11..  kini^  of  Fnnuv  0007-1081\ 

Soon  afttM"  tht^  pnblioatitui  of  his  Hymns,  and  booanso 
of  it.  ho  was  soiiiihi  ont  by  tlio  l\ov.  Andivw  Kinsman, 
o(  ri_\  numth.  and  nri;t\l,  thonch  in  his  forty  oii;hlh  yoar. 
to  nndortako  tho  work  of  tho  ministry.  Ho  oompliod, 
luui  proat'ht\l  his  tirst  sormon.  in  **tho  OKI  Mtvtin^i^;- 
llouso,"  St.  John's  Court,  Hormondsoy,  U^ndon.  Early 
ij\  I  TOO.  tho  old  woodtMi  mooting-  honso  in  .lowin  Stnvt, 
originally  bnilt  vb'^"-^  for  tho  ivlobratod  William  .lon- 
kyn,  was  prorurod  by  his  frionds.  and  a  duiivh  gjUhonHl 
thoiw  to  whioh  ho  ministoivd  for  tho  iioxt  eight  voai-s, 
rrowvls  cithoring  to  hoar  his  forvid  and  ohxiuout  dis- 
tvui*sOvS,  lloiv  (rod  cn  0  him  many  sonls  to  his  mimsrry. 
His  last  yoai's  wore  attondovl  with    oonsidoniblo   physioal 


THOMAS  HASTINGS.  297 

suffering.  He  died,  in  the  midst  of  liin  liibor.s  and  suc- 
cesHes,  May  24, 17(58,  in  Iuh  (ifly-Hixlh  year.  At  IiIh  burial  in 
Bunliill  I'Melds,  about  2(),()0()  imm)])!^  an^  Ha,id  to  have  been 
])reH(!iiit.  lie  left  a,  wifo  and  wix  cliildren.  One  of  lii.s  .son.s, 
who  at  his  marriage  liad  changed  his  name  to  inh(U-it  prop- 
erty, became  a  sncccssriil  barrisfcr,  was  made  a  l)aronct  by 
(le()rg(5  TV.,  and  was  appointiul  l^ord  (/haiici^llor  of  Irehuid. 
The  following  liymii  is  styled — "The  Paradox": 

"  IIow  stranp;o  is  tho  coursii  ilm<,  Ji  Ohristian  must  stoorl 
How  ])(ir|)l(>x(Ml  is  Mid  i)!il.li  \w  iiiiisl.  trciull 
Tim  liopn  of  lii.s  liiippiiirss  fiwvs  from  f(>!ii', 
And  Ills  lifd  lid  i'('C(«iv(>.s  from  tlid  (lend. 

"His  faircsl,  proliMisions  must  wholly  l>d  wjiivtul, 
And  hJH  best  rosolniions  bo  croissod; 
Nor  vim  bo  oxpoct  to  \w  porfoctly  savod, 
Till  lid  liiids  bimsclf  ull.drly  lost. 

"  Wlini  all  fhis  is  doiut,  and  bis  lu^arl,  is  assurod 
Of  Hid  (oliil  remission  of  sins, 
WluMi  liis  pardon  is  sij^iuMl,  and  bis  pcac-o  is  procured, 
From  tbat  momoiit  bis  conlUct  begius." 


TITOMAS  HASTINGS. 

1784-1872. 

The  cause  of  Sacred  Music  in  America  is  under  great  ob- 
ligations to  the  late  I^r.  Thomas  Hastings.  Few  men  have 
laboHMl  so  long,  so  earnestly,  so  intelligently,  so  dxn'outly, 
and  so  successfully,  foi'  th(^  improvement  oi'  "  the  siu'vicc  of 
song"  in  the  worship  of  (lod.  To  him,  and  the  late  Dr. 
Lowell  Mason — ^\p(fr  nohllv  fratrwm  ! ''"' — more  than  to  all 
otlnus,  is  <()  be  attributed  the  gr(;at  advance  math^  in  the 
character  of  this  i)art  of  public  worship  during  the  last  half 


298  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

century.  They  may  properly  be  regarded  as  the  founders 
of  the  prevailing  psalmody  of  America. 

Thomas  Hastings  was  the  son  of  Seth  Hastings,  M.D., 
and  was  born,  October  15,  1784,  at  Washington,  Litchfield 
Co.,  Conn.,  where  the  fii'st  twelve  years  of  his  boyhood 
were  spent.  In  the  winter  of'  1796,  his  father,  in  company 
with  several  of  his  neighbors,  removed  to  Oneida  Co.,  N. 
Y.,  and  located  in  the  town  of  Clinton,  a  remote  settlement, 
quite  on  the  frontiers  of  civiKzation.  Here  the  son  became 
inured  to  hardship  in  the  clearing  of  the  forests,  and  the 
subjugation  of  the  vii'gin  soil  to  the  plough.  His  opportu- 
nities of  education  were  quite  limited  and  remote — a  daily 
walk  of  six  miles  in  cold  and  storm  and  drifting  snows, 
being  required  for  two  winters,  in  order  to  Academic 
schooling.  Having  an  acute  ear  for  music,  and  a  corre- 
sponding passion  for  the  art,  he  began  the  study  of  the  sci- 
ence "  with  a  sixpenny  gamut  of  four  diminutive  pages," 
under  a  not  very  competent  teacher.  He  next  mastered  an 
old  book  of  psalmody,  and  at  length  became  the  chorister 
of  the  village  church.  An  elaborate  treatise  on  music, 
bought  at  auction,  came  into  his  hands,  and  was  thoroughly 
studied  and  apprehended. 

Having  reached  the  age  of  manhood  (1805),  he  offered 
himself  as  a  singing-school  teacher,  but,  because  of  his  im- 
perfect sight  (he  was  an  albino),  fruitlessly.  The  follow- 
ing winter  (1806-7),  however,  he  taught  a  singing-school  at 
Bridgewater,  Oneida  Co.,  and  another  at  Brookfield,  Herki- 
mer Co. ;  and  thus  began  the  work  of  his  life.  Years  passed 
on,  and  other  oiDenings  offered.  One  year  was  given  to 
business  pursuits,  and  four  years  to  the  care  of  his  father's 
farm.  In  1816,  he  gave  himself  to  the  profession  of  music. 
A  Musical  Society  ("  the  Handel  and  Burney ")  had  been 
formed  in  Oneida  Co.  Under  their  patronage,  Mr.  Hastings 
and  Prof.  Seth  Norton  compiled  two  pamphlet  numbers  of 
sacred  music,  which  were  subsequently  enlarged,  and,  hav- 
ing been  united  with  the  "  Springfield  Collection,"  edited 
by  Col.  Solomon  Wamner,  were  published  (1822)  as  "  Mu- 
slca  Sacra."    His  "Musical  Reader"  was  issued  in  1817. 


THOMAS  HASTINGS.  299 

A  winter  (1816-7)  spent  in  Troy,  N.  Y.,  served  to  de- 
velop a  remarkable  fluency  in  public  speaking,  and  he  be- 
came a  popular  Lecturer  on  Music.  He  wrote,  also,  for  the 
periodical  press ;  and,  in  1822,  published  at  Albany,  W.  Y., 
"A  Dissertation  on  Musical  Taste,"  by  whicb  lie  became 
extensively  known  as  a  musical  author. 

From  Troy  he  removed  to  Albany,  and  became  the  pre- 
centor of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chester's  church.  Thence,  in  the 
autumn  of  1823,  he  removed  to  Utica,  N'.  Y.,  to  become  the 
editor  of  a  religious  periodical.  He  continued  to  edit  the 
Western  Recorder  from  January,  1824,  until  the  latter  part 
of  1832,  advocating  in  its  columns,  with  marked  ability,  his 
views  of  Sacred  Music,  and  taking  frequent  opportunities 
to  lecture,  by  invitation,  in  various  places,  on  his  favorite 
theme.  An  Address,  which  he  delivered  before  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  at  Philadelphia, 
May  23, 1829,  was  published  shortly  after  in  the  Biblical 
Mepertory.  He  prepared  (1830),  for  the  American  Sunday- 
School  Union,  "  The  Union  Minstrel,  for  the  Use  of  Sabbath 
Schools  and  Juvenile  Classes."  The  Rev.  Joshua  Lea\itt,  of 
New  York,  had  just  published  "  The  Christian  Lyre,  a  Col- 
lection of  Hymns  and  Tunes,"  which  had  appeared  weekly 
in  successive  Numbers  of  the  New  TorJc  Enangelist  (of 
which  he  was  the  editor),  designed  for  "  Prayer-Meetings, 
and  Revivals  of  Religion."  It  had  been  received  wdth 
great  favor,  and  extensive  patronage.  To  counteract  what 
was  thought  to  be  the  injurious  tendency  of  this  publica- 
tion in  the  matter  of  musical  taste,  Mr.  Hastings,  conjointly 
with  Lowell  Mason,  of  Boston,  issued  (1830)  a  similar  se- 
rial, that  was  published  collectively  (1831)  as  "  Spiritual 
Songs  for  Social  Worship." 

The  fame  of  Mr.  Hastings,  as  a  successful  teacher  of  Sa- 
cred Music,  had  now  become  wide-spread.  Several  churches 
of  New  York  City  united  (1832)  in  a  request  that  he  would 
remove  to  New  York,  and  make  it  the  centre  of  his  opera- 
tions. He  complied,  and,  removing  thither,  November, 
1832,  found  a  wide  field  for  his  art  among  the  churches  of 
the  metropolis.    A  year  later,  he  became  the  chorister  of 


300  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

the  Bleecker  Street  Presbyterian  Churcli.  He  publislied 
(1834)  "  The  Mother's  Hymn-Book  [145  hymns]  ....  for 
the  Use  of  Maternal  Associations";  and,  shortly  after,  his 
"Mother's  Nursery  Songs."  He  became  the  editor  (1836) 
of  a  periodical  called  Tlie  Musical  Magazine,  from  the  24 
Numbers  of  which,  he  compiled  (1837)  his  "  Musical  Miscel- 
lany." "The  Christian  Psalmist,"  a  hymn-book  contain- 
ing, in  addition  to  Watts'  Psalms,  643  hymns  from  Watts 
and  others,  was  compiled,  and  i)ublished  (1836),  by  the  Rev. 
William  Patton,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  and  himself, — great 
liberties  having  been  taken  with  the  originals. 

He  prepared  and  published  (1837)  "  The  Manhattan  Col- 
lection of  Psalm  and  Hymn  Tunes  and  Anthems,  .... 
under  the  special  Patronage  of  the  New  York  Academy  of 
Sacred  Music,"  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  most  active  and 
influential  members.  Three  years  later  (1840),  under  the 
same  Patronage,  he  issued  "The  Sacred  Lyre."  Both  of 
these  works  were  received  with  much  favor.  To  these  he  now 
added  "The  New  York  Academy  Collection  of  Anthems." 
In  1842,  he  edited,  for  the  American  Tract  Society,  a  vol- 
ume of  "  Sacred  Songs  for  Family  and  Social  Worship," 
containing  183  Tunes ;  and,  subsequently,  their  "  Songs  of 
Zion." 

With  the  late  William  B.  Bradbury,  a  much  younger 
man,  and  an  ardent  lover  of  sacred  song,  he  united  in  the 
comi^ilation  and  publication  of  "  The  Psalmodist "  (1844), 
"The  New  York  Choralist"  (1847),  "The  Mendelssohn  Col- 
lection" (1849),  and  "The  Psalmista"  (1851).  These  Col- 
lections met  with  a  large  patronage. 

He  now  gathered  together  the  hymns  that  during  the 
previous  forty  years  he  had  composed,  many  of  them  to 
meet  special  wants,  either  of  occasions  or  tunes,  and  pub- 
lished them  (1850)  in  a  volume,  entitled, "  Devotional  Hymns 
[199]  and  Religious  Poems."  One  of  the  latter  contains 
nearly  1,000  lines. 

He  edited  (1852), "  Tlie  Presbyterian  Psalmodist "  (a  collec- 
tion of  about  500  tunes)  and  the  "  Juvenile  Psalmodist,"  for 
the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication.     He,  also,  assisted 


THOMAS  HASTINGS.  301 

Messrs.  Bradbury  and  Root,  in  the  compilation  (1853)  of 
"  The  Shawm,  a  Library  of  Church  Music."  In  1854,  he 
published  the  entertaining  "  History  of  Forty  ChoirSy"  with 
the  most  of  which  he  had  been  previously  connected.  He 
also  published  a  Sunday-School  Hymn  and  Tune  Book. 
He  united  with  his  son,  the  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Hastings,  D.D., 
in  the  compilation  and  publication  (1858)  of  "  Church  Melo- 
dies, a  Collection  of  [871]  Psalms  and  Hymns  with  appro- 
priate Music."  Finally,  he  gathered  together  such  of  his 
hymn  tunes  and  other  musical  compositions  as  he  desii'ed 
to  preserve,  gave  them  a  careful  and  thorough  revision,  and 
then  (1860)  issued  them  in  a  volume,  entitled,  "  Hastings's 
Church  Music,"  235  pieces — not  more  than  half,  probably, 
of  what  he  had  composed.  Among  his  publications  were  a 
volume  on  "  Sacred  Praise,"  and  another  on  "  Prayer."  He 
was  the  author  of  about  600  hymns. 

Dr.  Hastings  continued,  for  forty  years,  to  reside  in  New 
York,  contributing  constantly  to  the  periodical  press.  He 
was  greatly  beloved  and  universally  honored  as  a  noble 
Christian  man,  as  well  as  an  accomplished  musician.  He 
died,  at  his  home.  May  15, 1872,  in  his  eighty-eighth  year. 

The  following  is  the  118th  of  his  "  Hymns,"  called  "  The 
Mount  of  Privilege  ": 

"  My  soul  upon  the  mount  would  stand, 
Once  more  to  view  the  promised  land, 

The  land  of  thy  abode, 
Where  trees  with  fruit  immortal  grow, 
And  rivers  of  salvation  flow 

Forth  from  the  throne  of  God. 

"  Oh !  that  my  soul  were  filled  with  thee, 
With  visions  of  thy  majesty 
And  condescending  love  ; 
Then  would  my  cheerful  spirit,  Lord  1 
Be  ready,  at  thy  heavenly  word, 
To  take  its  flight  above." 


302  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HAYERG^L. 

1793-1870. 

William  Het^rt  Havergal,  the  eminent  musician  of 
the  Cliurcli,  was  the  son  of  William  Havergal,  of  High 
Wycombe,  Buckinghamshire,  England,  where  he  was  bom, 
January  18, 1793.  He  was  fitted  for  the  University,  at  the 
Merchant  Taylors'  Grammar-School,  London.  He  entered 
St.  Edmund  Hall,  Oxford,  in  1811,  graduating,  B.A.,  in 
1815,  and,  M.A.,  1819.  He  was  ordained  a  deacon  in  1816, 
and  a  priest  in  1817.  He  held,  for  several  years,  two  cu- 
racies successively,  in  Gloucestershire. 

He  was  preferred  (1829)  to  the  Rectorship  of  Astley,  on 
the  Severn,  Worcestershire ;  and  (1842)  to  the  Rectorship 
of  St.  Nicholas  in  the  city  of  Worcester.  He  was  made 
(1845)  Honorary  Canon  of  Worcester  Cathedral.  Impaired 
health  constrained  him,  in  1860,  to  resign  the  living  of  St. 
Nicholas,  and  to  accept  the  Perpetual  Curacy  of  Shareshill. 

Throughout  his  ministry  he  cultivated  the  Art  and  Sci- 
ence of  Music,  in  which  he  became  a  great  proficient.  He 
composed  both  music  and  jDoetry  with  remarkable  facility. 
Dr.  Lowell  Mason,  of  Boston,  an  eminent  musical  critic, 
who  visited  Worcester,  in  January,  1852,  says  of  him : 
"  He  is  well  known  by  numerous  sacred  songs,  i)ublished 
with  piano-forte  accompaniment.  But  it  is  metrical  psalm- 
ody and  the  chant  in  which  he  is  most  interested,  and  in 
which  he  has  produced  some  very  fine  specimens.  He  only 
devotes  odds  and  ends  of  time  to  music,  and  never  writes 
music  when  he  is  able  to  write  sermons ;  but  it  has  been 
when  weary  with  the  labors  of  the  day,  or  when  travelling, 
that  he  has  composed  most  of  his  popular  and  excellent 
tunes. "  He  describes  the  musical  service  in  Mr.  Havergal's 
church  as  excellent  in  all  particulnrs,  and  far  in  advance 
of  aji}i:hing  that  he  heard  in  England. 

Mr.  Havergal  competed  successfully,  in  1836,  and  again 
in  1841,  for  the  Gresham  Prize  Medal,  given  for  the  best 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HAVERGAL.  303 

composition  of  a  churcli  service  of  music,  or  antliem.  In 
the  Prize  Antliem  for  1841  (No.  XI.  of  the  Gresham  Com- 
positions), he  introduced  "  the  Old  Hundredth  Tune,"  with 
marked  effect.  He  i^ublished  (1844)  an  edition  of  "  Ravens- 
croft's  Psalter,"  of  1611 ;  and  (1847)  his  "  Old  Church  Psalm- 
ody,"— "probably,"  says  Bishop  Wainwright,  of  New  York, 
"  the  best  book  of  the  kind  which  has  appeared  since  the  days 
of  Ravenscroft." 

Two  volumes  of  his  "  Sermons  on  Historical  Subjects  from 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  "  appeared  in  1853  ;  "  A  His- 
tory of  the  Old  Hundredth  Psalm  Tune  with  Specimens," 
in  1854,  of  which  a  New  York  edition  was  issued  the  same 
year;  "  Memorial  Notices  of  J.  Davies,"  in  1858  ;  "A  Hun- 
dred Psalm  and  Hymn  Tunes,"  original,  in  1859 ;  and 
"Charles  and  Josiah,  or  Friendly  Conversations  between 
a  Churchman  and  a  Quaker,"  in  1862.  He  published  alto- 
gether about  fifty  musical  works,  besides  occasional  ser- 
mons and  contributions  to  musical  and  religious  periodi- 
cals. He  wrote,  also,  about  a  hundred  hymns,  some  of 
which  were  included  in  the  Rev.  William  Cams  "Wilson's 
Collection  of  Hymns  (1838),  and  the  most  of  them  in  the 
"Worcester  Diocesan  Hymn  Book." 

Mr.  Havergal  was  the  father  of  Miss  Frances  Ridley  Hav- 
ergal,  whose  numerous  poetical  and  prose  works  have 
been  received  with  such  marked  favor.  He  died,  at  Leam- 
ington, April  19, 1870,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

The  following  hymn  was  comj)osed  (1859)  "  for  a  special 
prayer-meeting  for  missionary  laborers,  held  in  his  school- 
room " : 

"  Remember,  Lord!  thy  word  of  old, 
The  promised  flood  of  grace ; 
When  earth  thy  blessing  shall  behold, 
As  streams  in  every  place. 


'*  The  barren  wild,  and  thirsty  soD, 
Thy  Spirit,  Lord !  await ; 
Oh  I  pour  it  forth,  and  crown  our  toil 
In  every  heathen  gate. 


304  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Where  thorns  and  briers  clothe  the  ground 
And  withering  idols  reign, 
There  let  thy  Spirit's  dew  abound, 
And  Eden  bloom  again. 

"  0  Holy  Ghost!  on  every  heart, 
In  every  land,  descend ; 
Thy  fertilizing  gifts  impart, 
And  bring  a  glorious  end." 


THOMAS  HAWEIS. 
1732-1820. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Haweis,  LL.B.,  M.D.,  was  born 
(1732)  at  Truro,  Cornwall,  England,  of  an  ancient  and  honor- 
able family.  His  mother,  Mrs.  Bridgeman  [Willyams] 
Haweis,  was  the  granddaughter  of  Hester,  the  eldest  sister 
of  the  last  Baron  Sandys,  whose  husband.  Col.  Humphrey 
Noye,  was  the  Attorney  General  of  King  Charles  I.  The 
family  were  thorough  Jacobites. 

Young  Haweis  was  favored  with  abundant  educational 
advantages  ;  but,  being  of  a  gay  and  jovial  disposition,  he 
consorted  much  with  an  older  scholar,  afterwards  well 
known  as  the  comic  actor,  Samuel  Foote.  In  his  four- 
teenth year  (1746)  he  was  brought  under  the  influence  of 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Walker,  who  at  that  time  became  the  Cu- 
rate of  St.  Mary's  Church,  Truro ;  and,  in  the  second  year  of 
his  curacy,  adopted  the  views,  and  became  an  earnest  advo- 
cate, of  the  evangelical  party  in  the  Church  of  England. 
Through  the  faithful  preaching  of  Mr.  Walker,  young  Ha- 
weis became  a  happy  subject  of  divine  grace. 

He  had  chosen,  on  leaving  school,  the  medical  profession, 
and  had  been  apprenticed  to  a  gentleman  in  Truro,  with 
whom  he  remained  the  required  time.  He  had  now  devel- 
oped such  oratorical  gifts,  accompanied  with  such  true  re- 


THOMAS  HAWEIS.  305 

ligious  ardor,  that,  by  Mr.  Walker's  advice  and  encourage- 
ment, lie  abandoned  medicine  for  theology.  The  consent 
of  his  family  having  been  secured,  he  entered  the  Univer- 
sity of  Oxford  as  a  student  and  gentleman-commoner  of 
Christ  Church  College,  removing  afterwards  to  Magdalen 
Hall.  He  associated  vdth  a  godly  band  of  students,  in 
meetings  for  prayer  and  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and  in 
evangelical  efforts  for  the  conversion  of  their  young  com- 
panions in  study.  He  maintained,  through  his  whole  col- 
lege course,  the  strictest  habits  of  piety  and  devotion. 

Shortly  after  his  graduation,  he  was  appointed  (1757)  the 
Curate  of  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen,  Oxford,  and 
ordained  by  Dr.  Thomas  Seeker,  then  Bishop  of  Oxford. 
He  soon  attracted,  by  the  fervor  of  his  preaching,  large  and 
admiring  audiences,  particularly  of  collegians,  and  many 
were  savingly  profited  by  his  ministrations.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  was  reproached  and  defamed  as  a  Methodist,  and 
at  length,  after  several  years  of  service,  deprived  of  his  cu- 
racy, by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hume,  who  had  succeeded  Dr. 
Seeker,  as  Bishop  of  Oxford.  For  a  short  time  afterwards. 
Dr.  Haweis  became  an  assistant  to  the  Eev.  Martin  Madan, 
then  in  charge  of  the  Lock  Hospital  Chapel,  London.  In 
1763,  he  became  the  Rector  of  All  Saints'  Church,  Aid  win- 
kle, Northamptonshire.  The  circumstances  of  the  case  were 
quite  remarkable. 

Mr.  Kimpton,  the  previous  incumbent,  had,  by  pecuniary 
embarrassments,  become  the  inmate  of  a  prison.  To  pre- 
vent the  living  from  lapsing  into  the  hands  of  the  bishop, 
he  was,  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Madan,  induced  to  pre- 
sent it  to  Dr.  Haweis,  nothing  having  been  said  or  inti- 
mated about  the  purchase  of  the  advowson,  or  any  pecu- 
niary compensation.  Shortly  after,  Mr.  Kimpton  received 
an  offer  of  a  thousand  guineas  for  the  advowson,  and  im- 
mediately demanded  of  Dr.  Haweis  either  to  relinquish 
the  presentation,  or  to  render  an  equivalent  compensation. 
Under  the  advice  of  distinguished  friends,  the  demand  was 
declined.  A  bitter  pamphlet  war  followed,  and  much  scan- 
dal ensued.  Lady  Huntingdon,  at  length,  to  jDut  an  end  to 
20 


306  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

it,  sent  Mr.  Kimpton  £1,000,  and  purchased  tlie  perpetual 
advowson  of  the  living.  Dr.  Haweis,  it  was  admitted^  had 
acted  in  good  faith  and  honor,  in  the  whole  unhappy  affair. 

His  ministry  was  attended  by  the  happiest  results.  The 
people  were  attracted  to  his  church  from  all  the  country 
round  about.  Many  of  the  most  profligate  characters  were 
reclaimed,  and  large  accessions  were  made  to  the  number  of 
communicants.  He  retained  the  position  from  the  year 
1763,  to  the  end  of  his  long  life,  honored,  faithful,  and 
highly  useful.  Lady  Huntingdon  appointed  him  one  of 
her  chaplains,  and  he  ministered  frequently  in  her  chapels. 
"  By  birth,  education,  and  habit,  a  gentleman,  his  society 
was  courted  by  the  first  circles."  By  the  suavity  of  his 
disposition,  and  the  urbanity  of  his  manners,  he  made  him- 
self acceptable  and  attractive  among  all  classes.  He  was 
exceedingly  catholic  in  his  principles,  and  co-operated 
frequently  with  evangelical  Dissenters,  in  their  benevolent 
schemes  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel.  He  united  with 
them  (1795)  in  the  formation  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  of  which  he  continued  a  most  earnest  promoter  to 
the  day  of  his  death.  He  was  appointed,  by  the  vdll  of 
Lady  Huntingdon,  her  executor  and  one  of  her  Trustees  ; 
and  he  faithfully  administered  the  trust,  involving  the  man- 
agement of  her  numerous  chapels  throughout  the  kingdom. 
He  took  the  degree  of  LL.B.  in  1772,  at  Cambridge  Univer- 
sity. 

His  wi'itings  are  more  practical  and  useful  than  profound 
and  erudite.  He  published  (1762)  "  Evangelical  Principles 
and  Practice,"  a  volume  of  14  sermons.  While  at  Oxford, 
he  had  delivered  a  course  of  Catechetical  Lectures,  on  suc- 
cessive Sunday  afternoons,  a  part  of  which  he  published 
(1764),  as  "  The  Communicant's  Spiritual  Companion ;  or, 
An  Evangelical  Preparation  for  the  Lord's  Supper."  It 
has  been  frequently  republished  both  in  Great  Britain  and 
America.  This  was  followed,  in  1765,  by  his  "  Evangelical 
Expositor ;  or,  A  Commentary  on  the  Holy  Bible :  Wherein 
the  Sacred  Text  is  inserted  at  Large,  the  Sense  explained, 
and  the  more  difficult  Passages  elucidated — with  Practical 


THOMAS  HAWEIS.  SW 

Observations,"  etc. ;  in  1775,  by  "  An  Improvement  of  the 
Church  Catechism";  and  in  1791,  by  "Essays  on  Christian- 
ity," and  "A  Short  Account  of  the  Last  Days  of  Lady 
Huntingdon." 

Shortly  after  the  decease  of  the  excellent  Countess,  he 
compiled,  and  published  (1792),  his  "  Carmina  Christo  ;  or. 
Hymns  to  the  Saviour  :  Designed  for  the  Use  and  Comfort 
of  those  who  worship  the  Lamb  that  was  Slain."  It  con- 
tained 141  original  hymns,  and  was  printed  in  the  square 
form  peculiar  to  Lady  Huntingdon's  Collection,  so  as  to 
form  a  Supplement  to  it.  A  seventh  Edition,  "  very  con- 
siderably enlarged,"  containing  256  hymns,  was  published 
in  1808.  A  very  few  only,  less  than  a  score,  have  become 
at  all  popular,  or  acceptable  among  the  churches. 

He  ventured  (1795),  with  inadequate  qualifications,  on 
"  A  Translation  of  the  New  Testament  from  the  Greek." 
"A  Life  of  the  Rev.  W.  Romaine"  was  published  in  1797. 
His  "  Letters  and  Particulars  relating  to  the  Life  of  John 
Ne\\i;on,"  appeared  in  1799.  "  An  Impartial  and  Succinct 
History  of  the  Rise,  Declension  and  Revival  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  from  the  Birth  of  our  Saviour  to  the  Present 
Time,' '  written  in  the  interests  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  followed  in  1800.  This  was  severely  criticised  by 
Dean  Isaac  Milner,  of  Cambridge,  and  an  unpleasant  pam- 
phlet controversy  followed.  His  latest  work  (1812)  was 
entitled,  "  A  View  of  the  Present  State  of  Evangelical 
Religion  throughout  the  World." 

Several  years  before  his  decease,  having  become  some- 
what infirm  by  reason  of  his  advanced  age,  Dr.  Haweis 
retired  from  the  active  duties  of  his  charge,  and  made  his 
home  at  Bath,  where,  full  of  peace  and  comfort,  he  died, 
February  11, 1820,  in  his  eighty-ninth  year.  His  piety  and 
poetry  are  both  exemplified  in  the  f  oUovdng  hymn,  entitled 
"Mourning  after  Christ": 

' '  If  Jesus  withholds  the  sweet  sense  of  his  grace, 
And,  hiding  in  darkness,  conceals  his  bright  face, 
There  is  not  a  spot,  in  the  regions  of  space. 
Can  cheer  me,  removed  from  his  sight : 


308  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

But  when,  o'er  the  mountains  of  dark  unbelief, 
My  Lord,  as  the  roe,  bounds  to  bring  me  relief, 
How  quickly  are  fled  all  my  sorrows  and  grief ! 
His  presence  is  joy  and  delight. 

"Ah!  come  then,  dear  Lord!  to  thy  mourner  retui'n; 
Laid  low  at  thy  footstool,  my  soul  do  not  spurn. 
But  speak  the  kind  word,  and  my  spmt  shall  burn — 

A  flame,  kindled  up  from  thine  own : 
Encu'cle  me  round  with  the  arms  of  thy  love, 
Thy  truth  and  thy  faithfulness  ever  to  prove. 
Till  safe  I  am  lodged  in  thy  bosom  above, 
With  thee  to  sit  down  on  the  throne." 


GEORGE  HEATH. 

Geoege  Heath  was  a  Unitarian  minister.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  the  Dissenting  Academy  in  Exeter,  England,  of 
which  the  Eev.  Micaiah  Towgood  was,  at  the  time,  one  of 
the  principal  Tutors.  Mr.  Heath  became  (1770)  the  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Honiton,  in  Devonshire. 
He  proved  unworthy  of  his  office,  and  ultimately  lost  his 
position  by  bad  conduct.     He  died  in  1822. 

In  1784,  he  published  his  "Hymns  and  Poetic  Essays, 
Sacred  to  the  Worship  of  the  Deity,  to  which  is  added 
Elegies."    The  familiar  hymn, 

"  My  soul!  be  on  thy  guard,"  etc., 

is  from  this  Collection.    In  1797,  he  also  published,  "A 
History  of  Bristol." 


REGINALD  HEBER. 
1783-1826. 


The  poetic  beauty  of  Bishop  Heber's  hymns  is  univer- 
sally conceded.     A  few  of  them  occupy  a  high  rank  as 


REGINALD  HEBER.  309 

sacred  lyrics.  His  "Missionary  Hymn"  is  found  in  all 
modern  Collections,  and  is  sung  all  over  the  Christian  world 
where  the  English  language  is  used. 

Reginald  Heber  bore  his  father's  name,  and  partook  of 
his  spiiit  and  principles.  The  father  was  the  son  of  Thomas 
Heber  and  Elizabeth  Atherton,  and  inherited  a  handsome 
estate,  including  the  patronage  of  the  rectories  of  Marton 
in  Yorkshire,  and  Hodnet  in  Shropshire.  He  resided  in 
the  parish  of  Malpas,  Cheshire,  of  which  he  was  co-rector 
with  Dr.  Townson.  His  first  wife,  Mary  Baylie,  was  the 
mother  of  Richard  Heber,  who  inherited,  as  the  eldest  son, 
the  family  estates,  and  was  noted  as  a  bibliomaniac,  the 
sale  of  whose  library  of  150,000  volumes,  in  1834,  occupied 
216  days.  His  second  wife,  Mary,  the  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Cuthbert  AUanson,  D.D.,  was  the  mother  of  Reginald, 
Thomas,  and  Mary.  The  father  was  a  graduate  of  Braze- 
nose  College,  Oxford,  and  the  author  of  several  poems. 
The  son,  Reginald,  was  bom,  April  21, 1783,  in  the  Malpas 
Rectory. 

Young  Reginald  had  every  advantage  in  securing  the 
best  possible  education.  His  father  was  his  first  instructor. 
At  seven  years,  he  versified,  in  English,  Phaedrus,  the  Latin 
fabulist.  At  eight,  he  was  sent  to  Dr.  Kent's  grammar- 
school,  in  Whitchurch ;  and  at  thirteen,  to  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Bristow's  select  school  at  Neasdon.  Here  he  contracted  a 
life-long  friendship  for  his  classmate,  the  philanthropical 
John  Thornton.  Four  years  (1800)  later  he  entered  Braze- 
nose  College,  Oxford,  his  father's  Alma  Mater,  of  which  his 
brother,  Richard,  was  at  the  time  a  Fellow, 

His  college  course  was  highly  honorable.  In  his  first 
year,  he  gained  the  Chancellor's  prize  for  the  best  Latin 
verse,  by  his  "  Carmen  Seculare."  He  took  (1803),  also,  a 
special  prize  for  the  best  English  verse,  by  his  "  Palestine," 
which  was  received  with  great  applause,  and  highly  com- 
mended on  its  publication.  At  his  graduation,  he  gained, 
also,  by  his  "  Sense  of  Honor,"  the  University  Bachelor's 
prize  for  the  best  English  prose  essay.  He  was  chosen, 
at  the  same  time,  a  Fellow  of  AU  Souls  College. 


310  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

In  1804,  Ms  father  died,  and  tlie  family  removed  to  Hod 
net.  The  next  year,  he  accomi^anied  his  friend  Thorntor 
on  a  Continental  tour,  returning  home  in  September,  1806. 
His  brother,  Richard,  now  ]3resented  him  with  the  living 
of  Hodnet,  and  he  was  ordained  early  in  1807.  A  busy  and 
successful  ministry  followed.  In  April,  1809,  he  married 
Amelia,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Dean  William  D.  Ship- 
ley,  and  granddaughter  of  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph.  The 
brothers  Hare  were  cousins  of  Mrs.  Heber  ;  and  Stoke,  the 
IDarental  home  of  Mrs.  Augustus  William  Hare,  is  but  two 
miles  from  Hodnet.  In  "  The  Memorials  of  a  Quiet  Life," 
vol.  i.,  chap.  2,  an  interesting  account  is  given  of  life  at 
Hodnet  Rectory. 

In  February,  1809,  he  published  "  Europe :  Lines  on  the 
Present  War."  The  same  month  he  wrote  to  his  friend 
Thornton,  "  My  Psalm-singing  continues  bad.  Can  you 
tell  me  where  I  can  purchase  Cowper's  '  Olney  Hymns,' 
with  the  music,  and  in  a  smaller  size  without  the  music  to 
put  in  the  seats  ?  Some  of  them  I  admire  much. "  It  was 
thus  that  Heber  was  led  into  the  composition  of  hymns, 
and  the  preparation  of  a  hymn-book, — a  design  that  was 
postponed  by  advice  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
Some  of  his  hymns  were  contributed  to  The  Christian  Ob- 
server, in  1811  and  1812. 

A  new  edition  of  his  Poems,  with  Translations  of  Pindar 
and  several  occasional  pieces,  was  issued  in  1812.  Two 
years  later,  he  was  appointed,  by  the  Heads  of  Colleges  at 
Oxford,  to  deliver  the  Course  of  Eight  Divinity  Lecture 
Sermons,  on  the  Hampton  Foundation.  The  Lectures  were 
delivered,  in  the  spring  of  1815,  at  St.  Mary's,  Oxford,  and 
published  (1816)  with  the  title,  "  The  Personality  and  Office 
of  the  Christian  Comforter  Asserted  and  Explained."  The 
book  was  somewhat  severely  criticised  by  The  British  Critic 
and  The  Christian  Observer. 

The  death  of  his  only  child,  at  the  age  of  six  months,  in 
December,  1818,  gave  occasion  to  the  hymn  beginning  with 

"  Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave,  but  we  will  not  deplore  thee." 

A  Royal  Proclamation  .(February,  1819)  called  for  contri- 


REGINALD  HEBER.  311 

butions,  in  all  the  cliiirclies  and  chapels  of  the  kingdom,  for 
"  The  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel."  The  Dean  of 
St.  Asaph  (the  father  of  Mrs.  Heber)  appointed  the  last 
Sunday  in  May  (30th),  Whit-Snnday,  for  a  Collection  at  the 
parish  church  of  Wrexham,  of  which  he  was  the  Vicar. 
Heber  had,  in  1817,  been  appointed  a  prebend  of  St.  Asaph, 
and  was  to  preach,  on  the  evening  of  the  same  Sunday,  the 
first  of  a  course  of  Sunday  evening  Lectures  in  the  church 
of  Wrexham.  The  two  divines  were  at  table  with  a  few 
friends,  the  evening  previous,  at  the  vicarage,  when  the 
Dean,  well  aware  of  the  poetic  abilities  of  his  son-in-law, 
bade  him  write  "  something  for  them  to  sing  in  the  morn- 
ing," in  connection  with  the  Dean's  missionary  seimon. 
Heber  obeyed,  and,  retiring  to  another  part  of  the  room, 
presently  produced,  and  read  to  the  company,  a  hymn  of 
four  stanzas,  beginning  with 

"  From  Greenland's  icy  mountains." 

The  next  morning  it  was  sung  for  the  first  time  to  the  old 
ballad  tune,  "  'Twas  when  the  seas  were  roaring  "  (so  says 
tradition),  in  the  beautiful  church  of  Wrexham.  The  col- 
lection amounted  to  £34.  This  one  hymn  has  done  more 
to  immortalize  the  name  of  Heber  than  anything  else  from 
his  pen. 

In  a  letter,  written  a  fortnight  later,  he  says :  "  I  have 
been  for  some  time  engaged  in  correcting,  collecting, 
and  arranging  all  my  hymns,  which,  now  that  I  have  got 
them  together,  I  begin  to  have  some  high  church  scruples 
against  using  in  public."  I^otwithstanding  these  scru- 
ples, he  continued  his  compilation  during  the  next  three 
years,  prevailing  on  his  gifted  friend,  the  Kev.  Henry  Hart 
Milman,  to  contribute  to  it  several  admirable  hymns.  He 
now  presented  a  masterly,  but  ineffectual,  plea  to  the  Bishop 
of  London  for  an  ecclesiastical  approval  of  his  design.  It 
was  not,  therefore,  until  after  his  decease  that  the  book  was 
published  (1827),  by  his  widow,  with  the  title,  "  Hymns 
Written  and  Adapted  to  the  Weekly  Service  of  the  Year." 

In  1822,  he  edited  "  The  Whole  Works  of  Jeremy  Tay- 


312  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

lor,"  to  wMdi  lie  prefixed  "A  Life  of  the  Anthor."  Fol 
several  previous  years,  lie  had  been  a  contributor  to  the 
London  Quarterly  Review,  and  a  wiiter  of  fugitive  poems 
and  songs.  He  obtained  (April,  1822)  the  Preachership  of 
Lincoln's  Inn,  London,  calling  him  to  the  city  for  about 
three  months  in  the  year,  and  adding  about  £600  to  his  an- 
nual income. 

He  was  appointed  (January,  1823)  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  a 
preferment  urged  upon  him  but  declined  the  year  before, 
on  account  of  his  wife  and  only  child,  but  now  accepted  as 
a  divine  call  to  the  missionary  work.  In  February,  he  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  D.D.  from  the  University  of  Oxford; 
June  1,  he  was  consecrated,  by  the  Archbishop,  at  Lambeth, 
and,  June  18,  he  sailed  for  India,  arriving  in  October.  His 
ministry,  as  a  colonial  bishop,  was  eminently  successful, 
and  won  for  him  an  honorable  fame.  On  one  of  his  exten- 
sive visitations,  in  the  very  midst  of  life  and  health,  he  died 
of  apoplexy,  occasioned  by  a  cold  bath,  April  3,  1826,  at 
Trichinopoly,  having  nearly  completed  the  forty- third  year 
of  his  age. 

His  "  Journey  through  India,"  in  two  large  volumes,  was 
published  in  1828,  and  has  frequently  been  republished. 
"The  Life  of  Reginald  Heber,  D.D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  Cal- 
cutta, by  his  Widow,"  appeared  in  1830  ;  followed,  in  1837, 
by  his  "  Parish  Sermons,"  in  three  volumes. 

An  eminent  physician  of  Calcutta,  intimately  acquainted 
with  him,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that,  at  the  best,  owing  to 
organic  disease,  he  could  have  lived  but  for  a  few  years, 
and  that  "  he  was  cut  oif  by  a  sudden  and  merciful  stroke, 
....  in  the  meridian  of  his  reputation  and  Christian  util- 
ity, leaving  behind  him  no  recollection  but  of  his  amiable 
manner,  his  sweetness  of  temper,  his  goodness  of  heart,  his 
universal  charity,  his  splendid  and  various  talents,  and  all 
his  deep  devotion  to  the  duties  of  his  sacred  calling." 

Tlie  three  hymns,  beginning  with 

"  Hosanna  to  the  living  Lord  ! " 

"  The  Lord  will  come,  the  earth  shall  quake," 

*'  Brightest  and  best  of  the  sons  of  the  morning  ! " 


OTTIWELL  HEGINBOTHOM.  313 

were  contributed,  witli  five  otliers,  to  The  CTiristian  Ob- 
server, and  published  in  the  October  and  November  Num- 
bers for  1811,  with  a  preliminary  statement  (signed  "  D.  R.," 
the  finals  of  his  name),  in  which  he  says  of  them,  that  they 
are  part  of  a  series  "  intended  for  the  use  of  his  own  con- 
gregation ;  [that]  no  fulsome  or  indecorous  language  has 
been  knowingly  adopted ;  no  erotic  addresses  to  Him  whom 
no  unclean  Up  can  approach ;  no  allegory  ill-understood, 
and  worse  applied."  Three  other  hymns  were  contributed 
to  The  Christian  Observer  in  1812.  Fifty-nine  hymns  are 
ascribed  to  his  authorship,  a  few  only  of  which  have  become 
extensively  popular.  His  "  Mariners'  Hymn  "  was  written 
for  the  "  Fourth  Sunday  after  Epiphany,"  and  is  here  given 
as  a  specimen  of  his  style : 

"  Wlien  tkrough  the  torn  sail  the  wild  tempest  is  streamiiig, 
When  o'er  the  dark  wave  the  red  lightning  is  gleaming, 
Nor  hope  lends  a  ray  the  poor  seaman  to  cherish, 
We  fly  to  om'  Maker, — '  Help,  Lord  !  or  we  perish  1 ' 

"  0  Jesus  !  once  tossed  on  the  hreast  of  the  hillow. 
Aroused  by  the  shi'iek  of  despair  from  thy  pillow. 
Now,  seated  in  glory,  the  mariner  cherish. 
Who  cries,  in  his  danger, — '  Help,  Lord  I  or  we  perish  ! ' 

*'  And,  Oh  !  when  the  whirlwind  of  passion  is  raging, 
When  hell  in  our  heart  his  wild  warfare  is  waging, 
Arise  in  thy  strength  thy  redeemed  to  cherish, 
Eebuke  the  destroyer, — '  Help,  Lord  !  or  we  perish  1 ' " 


OTTIWELL  HEGINBOTHOM. 

1744^1768. 

This  youthful  poet  is  to  be  numbered  among  the  early- 
caUed.  Scarcely  had  he  begun  to  preach  the  Gospel  that 
he  greatly  loved,  ere  he  was  taken  to  his  reward.  Tyerman, 
in  his  "  Life  and  Times  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  "  (II.  188), 


314  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

speaks  of  an  Ottiwell  Higginbotham,  a  man  of  considerable 
property,  wlio  lived  at  Marple,  near  Stockport,  in  1754.  He 
was  numbered  with  the  followers  of  Wesley,  and  was,  in 
all  probability,  the  father  of  the  young  preacher. 

The  hymnist  was  born  in  1744,  and,  at  an  early  age,  be- 
came a  student  at  Daventry.  Here  he  enjoyed  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Caleb  Ashworth,  a  man  of  great  abil- 
ities and  piety.  In  his  nineteenth  year,  he  was  invited  to 
preach  as  a  candidate  at  Sudbury,  Suffolk  ;  and  subse- 
quently he  was  chosen  their  pastor  by  a  divided  vote.  His 
ordination  was  deferred  with  the  vain  hope  of  conciliating 
the  minority,  and  eventually  occurred,  November  20,  1765. 
The  opposition  withdrew,  organized  a  new  church,  and  built 
a  new  house  of  worship.  The  sensitive  constitution  of  the 
young  pastor  was  fatally  affected  by  these  contentions. 
His  health  declined,  and  he  fell  (1768)  a  victim  to  consump- 
tion, having  lived  scarcely  twenty-four  years. 

His  hymns,  though  not  of  the  highest  order,  are  very 
pleasing,  and  well  adapted  for  congregational  worship. 
The  themes,  in  several  cases,  appear  to  have  been  sug- 
gested by  some  of  Dr.  Watts'  hymns.  An  edition  of  25 
"Hymns  by  the  late  Rev.  Ottiwell  Heginbothom,  of  Sud- 
bury, Suffolk,"  was  privately  printed  in  1799.  Some  of 
them  had  previously  appeared  in  the  first  volume  of  The 
Protestant  Dissenters'  Magazine,  for  1794.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  first  four  of  eight  stanzas  on  "  the  Country,  in 
the  Spring,"  written  at  "  Daventry,  April  19, 1761,  when  the 
author  was  a  student  in  the  Academy  at  that  Place,"  in  his 
seventeenth  year : 

"  While  Nature's  charms  arise  in  grand  array, 
And  vernal  beauties  deck  the  smiling  year, 
Fair  Caelia  wisely  takes  the  rural  way, 
Wliere  new  delig-hts  in  various  di'ess  appear. 

"  In  the  sweet  groves,  and  the  delicious  vales, 
Her  richest  blessings  liberal  Nature  hides; 
There  the  cool  rivulets,  and  the  balmy  gales, 
And  virtue  there  with  solitude  resides. 


FELICIA  DOROTHEA  [BROWNE]  HEMANS.  315 

"  Not  there  ambition  dwells,  nor  haughty  power, 
Nor  flattering  f  ortiine,  treacherously  kind ; 
True  pleasure  grows;  nor  fades  the  lovely  flower; 
For  virtue  cheers  the  self -possessing  mind. 

"  From  field  to  field,  with  fresh  dehght,  we  pass, 
And  pure  affections  raise  the  sacred  flame ; 
The  wholesome  herbage,  and  the  pearly  grass. 
Exalt  the  mind  and  tell  the  Former's  name." 


FELICIA  DOROTHEA  [BROWNE]  HEMANS. 
1T94-1835. 

Mr.  Browne,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Hemans,  the  gifted  po- 
etess, was  a  Liverpool  merchant  of  Irish  birth,  and  of  some 
prominence.  Her  mother.  Miss  Wagner,  was  the  daughter 
of  the  Imperial  and  Tuscan  Consul,  at  Liverpool,— a  gen- 
tleman of  German  and  Italian  descent.  Seven  children 
were  the  fruit  of  the  marriage,  of  whom  Felicia  was  the 
fifth.  She  was  born,  September  25,  1793,  at  Liverpool, 
England.  In  her  seventh  year,  Mr.  Browne,  in  conse- 
quence of  commercial  reverses  incident  to  that  revolution- 
ary period,  removed  to  Gwrych,  near  Abergele,  North 
Wales.  Here,  for  nine  years,  in  a  secluded  vale,  shut  in 
by  a  picturesque  mountain  range,  but  in  full  view  of  the 
"  solemn  sea,"  and  within  sound  of  its  "  far-distant  mur- 
murs," in  the  midst  of  wild  and  romantic  scenery,  and  the 
charms  of  cultivated  nature,  with  the  ample  resources  of  a 
well-selected  library,  the  fair  girl  grew  to  womanhood. 

From  her  childhood,  she  was  trained  almost  wholly  by 
her  godly  mother,  a  lady  of  superior  talents  and  education. 
Her  development  in  knowledge  and  varied  accomplish- 
ments was  early  and  rapid.  Her  fondness  for  poetry  was 
a  perfect  passion.  At  six  years  of  age,  she  had  devoured 
Shakespeare's  plays ;  and,  as  she  advanced  in  years,  she 


316  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

reveled  in  the  glowing  imagery  of  the  poets  of  the  pre- 
vious age.  At  eleven,  she  spent  a  winter  with  her  parents 
in  London,  and  repeated  the  visit,  for  the  last  time,  the  fol- 
lowing winter.  She  preferred  her  own  "green  land  of 
Wales,"  to  all  the  pomps  and  gaieties  of  the  town.  Her 
time,  in  the  city,  was  well  improved,  in  forming  an  ac- 
quaintance with  the  best  works  of  art. 

She  had  begun,  as  early  as  her  eighth  year,  to  express 
herself  in  verse ;  and,  in  her  fifteenth  year,  she  ventured 
to  put  the  fruits  of  her  early  musings  to  press,  with  the 
title, — "Early  Blossoms  of  Spring :  Poems  written  between 
the  Age  of  Eight  and  Fifteen  Years."  One  of  her  brothers 
was  ser\dng  in  the  army  with  Sir  John  Moore,  in  Spain ; 
giving  occasion  to  her  "  England  and  Spain  ;  or  Yalor  and 
Patriotism"  (1808).  At  this  period,  she  is  said  to  have 
been  "  a  lovely  girl,  with  golden  ringlets  shading  a  fair 
face  of  radiant  and  changeful  expression, — a  dream  of  de- 
light, a  vision  of  beauty,  a  creature  all  poetry,  romance, 
and  enthusiasm."  Captain  Hemans,  of  the  King's  Own 
(4th)  Regiment,  attached  also  to  the  army  in  Spain,  was,  at 
this  juncture,  introduced,  and  won  her  affections,  previous 
to  his  embarkation  for  Spain,  where  he  remained  for  three 
years. 

The  next  year  (1809),  her  father  removed  to  Bronwylfa, 
near  St.  Asaph.  Having  already  acquired  the  French  and 
Italian,  she  now  pursued  the  study  of  the  Spanish,  Portu- 
guese, and  German  languages.  Dramng  and  music  were, 
also,  studied  and  practised  with  delight.  A  visit  to  Con- 
way and  its  ivy-mantled  Castle,  served  further  to  cultivate 
and  inspire  her  imagination.  The  blind  harper  of  Conway 
deeply  interested  her,  and  occasioned  the  following  strains ; 

"  Minstrel!  whose  gifted  hand  can  bring 
Life,  rapture,  soul  from  every  string, 
And  wake,  like  bards  of  former  time, 
The  spirit  of  the  harp  sublime, — 
Oh !  still  prolong  the  varying  strain, 
Oh !  touch  th'  enchanted  chords  again. 
Thine  is  the  charm,  suspending  care, 


FELICIA  DOROTHEA  [BROWNE]  HEMANS.  317 

The  heavenly  swell,  the  dying  close, 
The  cadence  melting  into  air, 

That  lulls  each  passion  to  repose ; 
While  transport,  lost  in  silence  near, 
Breathes  all  her  language  in  a  tear." 

In  her  nineteentli  year,  she  published  "The  DomestiG 
Affections,  and  other  Poems";  and  the  same  year  was 
married  to  Captain  Hemans.  Tlie  first  year  of  her  married 
life  was  spent  at  Daventry,  Northamptonshire,  a  flat  coun- 
try, which  she  gladly  exchanged,  the  following  year,  for  the 
hill-country  of  Flintshire, — returning  soon  after  to  Bron- 
wylfa,  with  her  husband  and  first-born  son.  Living  here 
with  her  mother  (her  father  having  entered  into  business 
at  Quebec  in  America),  she  found  time  for  stiidy,  as  well  as 
the  care  of  her  increasing  household.  She  now  published 
(1816),  "  The  Restoration  of  the  Works  of  Art  to  Italy," 
and  (1817)  "Modem  Greece"  and  "Tales  and  Historic 
Scenes." 

Her  marriage  was,  to  say  the  least,  a  misfortune.  Her 
husband  was  not  worthy  of  her.  His  health  began  to  de- 
cline, and  he  found  it  convenient  to  avail  himself  of  the 
milder  climate  of  Eome,  leaving  his  wife  and  five  sons  at 
home.  He  never  returned.  They  corresponded  regularly, 
but  never  met  again. 

She  now  devoted  herself  to  the  training  of  her  boys,  and 
the  pursuit  of  literature.  "  Translations  from  Camoens  and 
other  Poets"  appeared  in  1818.  She  obtained  the  prize  of 
fifty  pounds  offered  for  the  best  Poem  on  "  The  Meeting  of 
Wallace  and  Bruce  on  the  Banks  of  the  Carron,"  though  a 
host  of  others  competed  for  it.  This,  and  her  "  Stanzas  on 
the  Death  of  the  Princess  Charlotte,"  were  printed  in 
Blachioood's  Magazine,  the  latter,  April,  1818,  and  the 
former,  September,  1819. 

Encouraged  by  good  old  Dr.  Luxmore,  Bishop  of  St. 
Asaph,  \vith  whom  and  his  family  she  had  long  been  on 
terms  of  endearing  intimacy,  she  wrote,  and  published  in 
1820,  her  beautiful  poem,  "  The  Sceptic."  The  same  year, 
to  her  great  delight  and  advantage,  she  made  the  acquaint- 


318  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ance  of  Reginald  Heber,  whose  father-in-law,  Dean  Ship- 
ley, resided  at  Bodryddan,  in  her  immediate  neighborhood, 
and  had,  for  years,  showTi  her  much  genuine  courtesy  and 
kindness.  "I  am  more  delighted  with  Mr.  Heber,"  she 
says,  "  than  I  can  possibly  tell  you ;  his  conversation  is 
quite  rich  with  anecdote,  and  every  subject  on  which  he 
speaks  had  been,  you  would  imagine,  the  sole  study  of  his 
life."  She  was  then  waiting  a  poem  on  "Superstition  and 
Revelation,"  which,  as  far  as  written,  she  submitted  to  He- 
ber's  judgment.  It  was  left  in  a  fragmentary  state  at  her 
death. 

She  contended  successfully,  in  1821,  for  the  prize  offered, 
by  the  Royal  Society  of  Literature,  for  the  best  poem  on 
"Dartmoor."  She  wi^ote,  in  1823,  "The  Vespers  of  Paler- 
mo," a  Tragedy,  the  performance  of  which  at  Covent  Gar- 
den, in  December,  proved  a  failure ;  but  at  Edinburgh,  in 
the  following  April,  a  great  success,  bringing  her  into  cor- 
respondence with  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  wrote  for  it  an  epi- 
logue. "  The  Voice  of  Spring  "  and  "  The  Siege  of  Valen- 
cia," were  also  ^vritten  in  1823,  She  now  became  a  con- 
tributor to  Cami)beirs  Neio  Montlily  Magazine.  "De 
Chatillon ;  or  The  Crusaders,"  a  Tragedy,  was  \viitten  in 
1824,  and  "  The  Forest  Sanctuary,"  her  longest  poem,  in 
1824-5. 

From  Bronwylfa,  she  removed,  in  1825,  with  her  children, 
sister,  and  mother,  to  a  house  belonging  to  her  brother,  at 
Rhyllon,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  Her  "  Lays  of  Many 
Lands,"  the  most  of  which  had  appeared  in  the  New 
3£ont7dy,  appeared  in  1826.  This  was  followed  by  the  lin- 
gering illness,  and  death  (January  11,  1827),  of  her  greatly 
beloved  mother.  A  deeper  tone  of  sadness,  and  a  higher 
style  of  piety,  now  pervaded  the  productions  of  her  pen. 
She  began  herself  to  decline  in  health,  and  to  suffer  from 
acute  disease.  Still  she  wrote.  Her  "  Records  of  Woman  " 
appeared  in  1828.  She  now  left,  with  many  regrets,  hei 
mountain  home,  and  took  up  her  abode  at  Wavertree,  near 
Liverpool— the  eldest  two  of  her  sons  having  been  sent  to 
join  theu'  father  in  Italy. 


FELICIA  DOROTHEA  [BROWNE]  HEMANS.          319 

She  visited  Scotland  in  the  summer  of  1829,  receiving 
everywhere,  as  a  literary  celebrity,  the  most  flattering  at- 
tentions, and  forming  a  most  pleasant  acquaintance  ^vith 
Jeffrey,  Basil  Hall,  Mackenzie,  Alison,  and  especially  with 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  whose  hosiDitality  she  greatly  enjoyed. 
The  following  winter  she  wrote  the  principal  lyrics,  in  her 
"  Songs  of  the  Affections,"  iDublished  in  1830.  A  part  of 
the  next  summer  she  spent  at  Ambleside,  and  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  poet  Wordsworth.  In  the  autumn 
she  again  visited  Scotland,  returning  to  Liverpool,  by  way 
of  Dublin  and  Wales.  In  the  follomng  spring  she  re- 
moved to  Ireland,  and  after  a  sojourn  with  her  brother, 
Col.  Sir  Henry  Browne,  K.C.H.,  at  Kilkenny,  she  took  up 
her  abode,  in  the  autumn  (1831),  at  Dublin. 

Mrs.  Hemans  had  now  become  a  confirmed  invalid,  as 
well  as  a  mature  Christian.  More  and  more  she  gave  her- 
self to  the  cultivation  of  her  spiritual  nature,  in  which  she 
found  great  assistance  and  encouragement  from  the  warm 
friendship  of  Archbishop  Whately  and  his  family.  Her 
"  Hymns  for  Childhood,"  which  had  been  published  by  her 
admiring  friend.  Prof.  Norton,  in  1827,  at  Boston,  Mass., 
were  now  (1834)  published  for  the  first  time  in  England. 
Her  "  National  Lyrics  "  followed  soon  after,  and  a  volume 
of  Sacred  Poetry,  entitled,  "Scenes  and  Hymns  of  Life." 

Her  work  was  now  almost  done.  In  great  debility  she 
passed  the  ensuing  winter,  as  a  welcome  guest  in  the  hos- 
pitable abode  of  Archbishop  Whately, — Redesdale,  seven 
miles  from  Dublin.  In  March,  1835,  she  returned  to  her 
city  home,  where,  in  patient  resignation  and  blissful  hope, 
she  lingered  a  few  weeks,  and  then.  May  16, 1835,  quietly 
jdelded  up  her  spirit,  in  the  forty-second  year  of  her  age. 

Miss  Jewsbury  (Mrs.  Fletcher),  who  formed  her  acquaint- 
ance in  1828,  said  of  her,  she  "  was  totally  different  from 
any  of  the  women  I  had  ever  seen,  either  in  Italy  or  in 
England.  She  did  not  dazzle,  she  subdued  me.  Other 
women  might  be  more  commanding,  more  versatile,  more 

acute  ;  but  I  never  saw  one  so  exquisitely  feminine 

She  was  a  Muse,  a  Grace,  a  variable  child,  a  dependent 


320  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

woman,  the  Italy  of  human  beings."    Mrs.  Grant,  of  Lag- 
gan,  addressed  lier  (1827)  by  letter,  and  said :  "  Praised  by 
all  that  read  you,  loved  by  all  that  praise  you,  and  known, 
in  some  degree,  wherever  our  language  is  spoken." 
Her  hymn  beginning 

"  He  knelt — ^the  Saviour  knelt  and  prayed," 

was  contributed,  in  1825,  to  a  Holiday  Annual,  called  "  The 
Amulet."  Her  last  poem,  the  "  Sabbath  Sonnet,"  was  com- 
posed, Sunday,  April  26,  about  three  weeks  before  her 
death,  and  dictated  to  her  brother,  as  follows : 

"  How  many  blessed  groups  this  hour  are  bending', 

Through  Eng'land's  primrose  meadow-paths,  their  way 

Toward  spu'e  and  tower,  'midst  shadowy  ehns  ascending. 
Whence  the  sweet  chimes  proclaim  the  hallowed  day ! 
The  halls,  frora  old  heroic  ages  gray, 

Pour  then*  fan*  children  forth ;  and  hamlets  low. 
With  whose  thick  orchard  blooms  the  soft  winds  play, 

Send  out  their  inmates  in  a  happy  flow, 
Like  a  freed  vernal  sti'eam.     I  may  not  tread 
With  them  those  pathways — to  the  feverish  bed 

Of  sickness  bound ;  yet,  O  my  God !  I  bless 
Thy  mercy,  that  with  Sabbath  peace  hath  filled 
My  chastened  heart,  and  all  its  throbbings  stOled 

To  one  deep  calm  of  lowliest  thankfulness." 

The  remains  of  Mrs.  Hemans  were  interred  in  St.  Anne's 
Church,  Dublin ;  and  over  her  grave  the  following  lines, 
from  one  of  her  own  sweet  poems,  were  inscribed : 

"  Calm,  on  the  bosom  of  thy  God, 

Fair  spirit !  rest  thee  now ! 
E'en  while  with  us  thy  footsteps  trod, 

His  seal  was  on  thy  brow : 
Dust  to  its  narrow  house  beneath ! 

Soul,  to  its  place  on  high ! 
They,  that  have  seen  thy  look  in  death, 

No  more  may  fear  to  die." 


JAMES  HERYEY.  321 

LUISE  HENSEL. 

1798 . 

Miss  Hensel  was  the  daughter  of  a  Lutheran  clergy- 
man, who  resided  at  Linum,  in  Brandenburg,  Germany, 
where,  March  30, 1798,  she  was  born.  She  was  sent  (1810) 
to  Berlin,  to  complete  her  education,  residing  there  until 
1819.  She  united  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in 
1818,  and  obtained  the  position  of  governess  in  a  boarding- 
school,  at  Aix-la-Chapelle.  Thence  she  returned  to  Linum, 
to  reside  with  her  widowed  mother,  who  died  in  1835. 
During  this  period  she  wi'ote  the  most  of  her  forty-four 
hymns.     The  one  beginning 

"  Immer  muss  ich  wieder  lesen," 
["Ever  would  I  fain  be  reading, "—Tr.  Miss  WrNKWORTH.] 

was  printed  anonymously  in  1829.  Her  hymns  breathe  a 
sweet  Christian  spirit  of  humility,  and  exhibit  traits  of 
genuine  Christian  experience. 


JAMES  HERVEY. 
1714-1758. 

Mk.  Heevey  has  small  claims  to  be  classed  among  the 
Poets  of  the  Church.  He  was  not  a  composer  of  hymns. 
All  that  he  wrote  in  this  line  was  in  the  form  of  a  few  brief 
translations  from  the  classics.  He  was  a  profuse  and  ex- 
ceedingly florid  writer,  and  had  imagination  enough  to 
have  excelled  in  poetry,  had  he  cultivated  it. 

He  was  the  son  of  a  clergyman,  residing  at  Hardingstone, 
England,  and  holding  the  living  of  Collington.  James  was 
21 


322  THE  POETS  OP  THE  CHUECH. 

bom,  February  26,  1714 ;  and,  at  seven  years  of  age,  lie 
was  sent  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clarke's  free  grammar-scliool  at 
Northampton.  He  entered  Lincoln  College,  Oxford,  in 
1731.  John  Wesley  was  then  a  Fellow  of  the  College,  and 
Hervey  joined  the  iDraying  band,  organized  by  the  brothers 
Wesley,  and  identified  himself  (1733)  with  the  revival 
movement,  out  of  which  sprang  the  Wesleyan  denomina- 
tion. From  this  time  until  his  graduation,  he  became  a 
diligent  student. 

At  the  close  of  1736,  he  was  ordained  a  deacon,  and,  for 
a  short  time,  served  as  the  Curate  of  Weston  Favell,  of 
which  parish  his  father  had  become  the  Rector.  He  be- 
came, in  1737,  the  Curate  of  Dummer ;  then,  for  two  years 
(1738-1739),  he  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  his  friend,  Paul 
Orchard,  at  Stoke  Abbey,  Devonshire,  obtaining,  in  1740, 
the  Curacy  of  Bideford.  Here  he  remained  two  and  a 
half  years.  In  1741,  he  exchanged  his  Anninian  for  Cal- 
vinistic  views  of  the  doctrine  of  Justification,  and  made  a 
renewed  consecration  of  all  his  powers  to  the  service  of  his 
Divine  Redeemer. 

While  in  Devonshire,  he  had  occasion  to  make  an  excur- 
sion in  the  adjacent  county  of  Cornwall.  Stopping  at  a 
considerable  village,  called  Kilkhamton,  he  strolled,  quite 
naturally,  into  the  fine  old  church  built  several  centuries 
before, — a  light  and  handsome  edifice  of  three  aisles,  the 
arches  sustained  by  slender  and  elegant  pillars,  and  the 
floor  everywhere  covered  with  monumental  inscriptions. 
Then  and  there  he  conceived  the  idea  of  his  "  Meditations 
among  the  Tombs," — a  book  that  was  probably  written  at 
Bideford.  Among  the  tomb-stones  that  suggested  his  pious 
"Meditations,"  was  one  in  honor  of  " Sir  Bevil  GranviUe, 
slain  in  the  civil  wars,  at  an  engagement  with  the  rebels," 
at  the  battle  of  Lansdown.  His  reflections  on  this  tomb  are 
closed  with  these  stanzas : 

"  Make  the  extended  skies  your  tomb; 
Let  stars  record  your  worth : 
Yet  know,  vain  mortals !  all  must  die, 
As  nature's  sickliest  bii'th. 


JAMES  HERVEY.  323 

**  "Would  bounteous  Heaven  indulge  my  prayer, 
I  frame  a  nobler  choice ; 
Nor,  living,  wish  the  pompous  pile, — 
Nor,  dead,  regret  the  loss. 

"In  thy  fair  book  of  life  divine, 
My  Grod !  inscribe  my  name : 
There  let  it  fill  some  humble  place, 
Beneath  the  slaughtered  Lamb. 

"  Thy  saints,  while  ages  roll  away, 
In  endless  fame  sm-vive ; 
Their  glories,  o'er  the  wi'ongs  of  time, 
Greatly  triimiphant  live." 

The  word  "  slauglitered "  in  the  last  line  of  the  third 
stanza  alludes  to  the  "  slaughtered "  knight,  Sir  Bevil.  A 
change  in  the  Rectorship  closed  his  Curacy  at  Bideford, 
and  he  returned,  in  1743,  to  Weston  Favell,  and  again  be- 
came his  father's  Curate.  Having  added  to  his  "Medita- 
tions," spiritual "  Reflections  on  a  Flower-Garden,"  and  "  A 
Descant  upon  Creation,"  he  published  them  (1746)  in  one 
volume.  The  book  was  received  with  extraordinary  favor. 
A  reflection  on  the  admirable  adjustment  of  form  and  color 
to  the  times  and  seasons,  leads  him  to  plead  for  content- 
ment with  the  allotments  of  Di\T.ne  Providence.  In  a  mar- 
ginal note,  he  quotes  a  quatrain  from  Juvenal  as  follows : 

"  Permittas  ipsis  expendere  numinibus,  quid 
Conveniat  nobis,  rebusque  sit  utile  nostris. 
Nam  pro  jucundis  aptissima  qufeque  dabunt  dii  : 
Carior  est  illis  homo,  quam  sibi." 

Of  these  lines  he  then  gives  the  following  paraphrase : 

"  Since  all  the  downward  tracts  of  time 
God's  watchful  eye  surveys, 
Oh !  who  so  wise  to  choose  our  lot, 
And  regulate  our  ways  ? 

"  Since  none  can  doubt  his  equal  love, 
Unmeasurably  kind. 
To  his  unerring  gracious  will 
Be  every  wish  resigned. 


324  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Good  when  he  gives,  supremely  good, 
Nor  less,  when  he  denies  ; 
E'en  crosses,  from  his  sovereign  hand, 
Are  blessings  in  disguise." 

These  three  stanzas,  slightly  altered,  the  second  and  third 
transposed,  with  the  one  referred  to  above  attached,  were 
arranged  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  B.  Collyer  (1812),  or 
some  earlier  compiler,  into  an  acceptable  hjnnn  as  now 
found  in  many  Collections.  Collyer  includes  also  the 
fourth  stanza  of  the  former  hymn. 

A  second  volume  of  a  similar  character,  entitled, — "  Con- 
temi^lations  on  the  Night,  and  the  Starry  Heavens  ;  with  a 
Winter  Piece,"  appeared  in  December,  1747.  His  health 
now  seriously  declined ;  and  in  June,  1750,  he  was  sent  by 
his  family  to  London,  where  he  continued  until  April,  1752, 
when,  having  recovered  from  an  alarming  illness,  and  his 
father  having  died,  he  returned  home,  took  the  degree  of 
A.ISI.,  at  Cambridge  University,  and  succeeded  his  father 
in  the  two  livings  of  Weston  Favell  and  CoUingtree. 

His  "Remarks  on  Lord  Bolingbroke's  Letters  on  the 
Study  and  Use  of  History,"  appeared  in  November,  1752 ; 
his  "  Theron  and  Aspasio,"  in  three  volumes,  followed  in 
January,  1765 ;  and  his  "  Aspasio  Vindicated "  was  nearly 
ready  for  the  press,  when,  having  long  been  subjected  to 
wasting  disease,  in  great  debility,  but  in  the  fullest  and 
sweetest  assurance  of  faith  and  hope,  Mr.  Hervey  died,  De- 
cember 25, 1758. 

He  was  one  of  the  godliest  men  of  his  day,  and  of  most 
exemplary  life.  He  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the  apos- 
tolic Whitefield,  Lady  Huntingdon,  Henry  Yenn,  William 
Romaine,  and  their  associates.  His  "Meditations,"  "Re- 
flections," and  "Contemplations,"  have  been  immensely 
popular,  and  are  still  great  favorites.  His  "Works,"  in 
six  volumes,  have  been  frequently  published. 


JOHN  WILLIAM  HEWETT.  325 


JOHN  WILLIAM  HEWETT. 

Me.  Hewett  is  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  an  eminent  teacher.  He  entered  Trinity  College,  Cam- 
bridge, in  1845,  and  graduated,  A.B.,  in  1849,  and  A.M.,  in 
1852.  He  became  an  author  while  an  undergraduate. 
Much  addicted  to  antiquarian  research,  he  edited,  in  1848, 
the  "Sealed  Copy  of  the  Prayer-Book  of  1662";  "Liber 
Precum  Publicarum";  a  "Brief  History  and  Description 
of  the  Conventual  and  Cathedral  Church  of  Holy  Trinity, 
Ely";  a  "Brief  History  and  Description  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  St.  Peter,  Exeter";  and  "The  Arrangement  of 
Parish  Churches  Considered." 

He  was  ordained,  by  the  Bishop  of  Chichester,  a  deacon, 
June  3,  1849,  and  a  priest,  May  26, 1850.  He  was  chosen  a 
Fellow,  and  appointed  Tutor,  of  St.  Nicholas'  College,  Shore- 
ham,  in  1849  ;  and,  in  1853,  became  the  Head-Master  of 
All-Saints'  Grammar- School,  and  Curate  of  the  Church  of 
Bloxham,  Oxfordshire.  In  1857,  he  obtained  the  Curacy 
of  St.  George's,  Whitwick,  Leicestershire  ;  and,  in  1871,  he 
became  the  Curate  of  St.  Paul's,  Bunhill  Row,  London. 

"  Verses  by  a  Country  Curate,"  from  his  pen,  appeared 
in  1859.  Several  of  the  hymns  in  this  work  have  come 
into  use,  among  them,  the  one  beginning 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  the  Father." 

Six  of  his  hymns  are  found  in  Shipley's  "Lyra  Messian- 
ica"  (1865).  They  pertain  to  the  ritualistic  school  of  hymn- 
ology.  He  has  given  much  time  and  care  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  "  Bibliotheca  Sacra  Parvulorum,"  including  a 
contribution  to  Hymnology  in  "Hymnorum  Latinorum 
Delectus."  The  following  lines  are  from  his  version  of 
"  Hsec  est  sancta  solemnitas  solemnitatum  ": 

\ 

"  Hail  the  holy  day  of  days  ! 
High  the  song  of  triumph  raise  ; 
To  the  Saviour's  glory  tell 
How  the  cross  hath  vanquished  heU, 


326  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

And  the  empire,  old  and  strong, 

Satan's  power  had  held  so  long. 

By  the  precious  blood  are  we 

Now  redeemed  of  Christ,  and  free  ; 

High  thanksgiving,  therefore,  raise, 

Sing  the  great  Redeemer's  praise. 

King  of  kings  !  thy  saints  unite 

To  the  choir  of  angels  bright  ; 

Hear  them  when  they  make  their  prayer, 

For  thy  worehip  is  their  care  ; 

Show  them,  Lord  !  thy  tender  grace, — 

All  the  sweetness  of  thy  face." 


ROWLAIN^D  HILL. 
1744-1833. 

The  eccentric,  yet  godly  and  higlily  honored,  Eowland 
Hill  was  among  the  most  useful  of  the  apostolic  men  who 
took  part  in  promoting  the  "  Great  Revival  of  the  Eight- 
eenth Centiiry."  He  was  the  sixth  son  of  Sir  Rowland 
Hill,  Bart.,  and  Jane,  the  daughter  of  Sir  Brian  Broughton, 
Bart.,  of  Broughton,  England.  Hawkstone,  the  residence 
of  Sir  Rowland,  is  in  the  chapelry  of  Weston,  parish  of 
Hodnet,  the  home,  for  many  years,  of  Heber,  "  Beautiful 
for  situation,"  "Nature  has  lavished  her  choicest  beau- 
ties on  that  lovely  spot."  "So  commanding  is  the  situa- 
tion of  this  enchanting  ground,  that,  from  the  lofty  column 
erected  to  the  memory  of  a  distinguished  ancestor  of  the 
Hills — the  first  Protestant  Lord  Mayor  of  London — the  eye 
can  wander  at  pleasure  over  fifteen  counties." 

In  this  charming  locality,  Rowland  was  born,  August  23, 
1744,  and  spent  his  early  boyhood.  In  the  midst  of  the 
gaieties  to  which  he  was  accustomed  from  infancy,  he  be- 
came, when  quite  young,  the  subject  of  serious  impressions, 
occasioned  by  the  frequent  reading  of  Dr.  Watts'  Hymns, 
given  him  by  a  devout  lady.     He  was  fitted  for  the  Uni- 


ROWLAND  HILL.  327 

versity  at  tlie  Royal  Free  Grammar- School,  at  Shrewsbury ; 
and,  from  1761,  at  Eton  College.  His  eldest  brother,  Rich- 
ard, had  become  a  decided  and  zealous  Christian ;  and  a 
letter  of  godly  counsel  from  Richard,  about  this  time,  was 
the  means  of  Rowland's  conversion.  To  the  elder  brother, 
and  his  no  less  pious  sister,  Jane,  Rowland  was  greatly  in- 
debted for  constant  advice  in  the  way  of  godliness  during 
his  student's  course. 

He  entered  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  October,  1764. 
His  piety  made  him  a  marked  man  in  the  midst  of  prevail- 
ing ungodliness.  Berridge,  the  godly  Vicar  of  Everton, 
soon  found  him  out,  and  encouraged  him  to  persevere  in 
the  ways  of  holiness.  Rowland  spent  his  Sabbaths,  ordi- 
narily, at  Everton,  and  imbibed  much  of  Berridge's  spirit, 
and  not  a  little  of  his  eccentric  style  of  speech  and  address. 
He  engaged,  also,  in  evangelical  labors  for  the  poor,  visit- 
ing the  sick,  the  inmates  of  the  workhouses,  the  prisoners, 
and  others.  He  embraced  every  opportunity,  moreover,  to 
expound  the  Scriptures  in  the  hamlets  and  villages  about 
Cambridge.  He  sought  counsel  of  Whitefield,  and  was 
greatly  cheered  by  his  spiritual  and  animating  letters.  A 
praying-band  was  formed  in  the  University,  six  of  whom, 
in  1768,  were  expelled  from  College,  because  of  their  "  en- 
thusiasm." Rowland,  though  in  this  respect  the  greatest 
"  sinner"  of  them  all,  escaped,  and  graduated,  A.B.,  in  1769. 

He  would  gladly  have  taken  orders.  But  the  church  au- 
thorities declined  to  lay  their  ordaining  hands  on  one  so 
addicted  to  irregularities  as  the  baronet's  son.  Four  times 
he  was  refused.  Yet  he  preached,  wherever,  in  town  or 
country,  he  could  gather  the  people  to  hear.  During  the 
winter,  he  pursued  his  studies  at  Hawkstone,  his  paternal 
home.  The  rest  of  the  year  he  ranged  over  the  country, 
seeking  to  save  the  lost.  At  length,  through  the  influence 
of  Mr.  Tredway,  who  had  married  Rowland's  sister,  and 
whose  sister  about  this  time  was  married  to  Rowland,  he 
was  ordained  a  deacon,  June  6, 1773,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ed- 
ward Willes,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  having  received 
an  appointment  to  the  Curacy  of  Kingston  in  that  diocese. 


328  THE  POETS  OE  THE  CHURCH. 

He  built  himself  a  house  at  Wotton-under-Edge,  midway 
between  Bristol  and  Gloucester,  and  radiated  thence,  with 
wonderful  success,  all  over  Gloucestershire,  Somersetshire, 
Wiltshire,  and  Wales,  extending  his  circuits  to  Bristol  and 
London,  and  far  away  to  the  West,  through  Devonshire 
and  Cornwall. 

At  length,  having  often  addressed  great  crowds  on 
Blackfriars  Koad,  Surrey,  he  determined  to  build  a 
chapel  in  that  neighborhood ;  and  "  Surrey  Chapel," 
half  a  mile  from  Blackfriars  Bridge,  called,  on  account 
of  its  octagonal  form,  "The  Religious  Round-House," 
was  opened,  June  8,  1783.  Alternating  between  Surrey 
Chapel  in  the  winter  and  Wotton  in  the  summer,  with 
fi'equent  preaching  rambles  elsewhere,  this  extraordinary 
man  continued,  for  fifty  years  longer,  doing  his  Master's 
work,  and  leading  a  great  multitude  to  Christ.  Never 
having  attained  to  the  priesthood,  he  occupied  a  posi- 
tion of  great  catholicity;  "theoretically  a  churchman,  and 
practically  a  Dissenter, — a  Dissenter  within  the  Church, 
a  Churchman  among  Dissenters."  He  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  poor ;  organized  and  xoatronized  Societies  for  their 
relief ;  took  a  most  active  part  in  founding  the  "  London 
Missionary  Society,"  the  "  Religious  Tract  Society,"  and 
the  "British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society";  preached  and  la- 
bored for  them ;  and  delighted  in  seconding  and  fostering 
every  godly  enterprise  for  the  good  of  the  poor  and  the 
salvation  of  the  lost.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  patrons  of 
Sunday- Schools,  and  eagerly  embraced  opportunities  for 
their  advancement. 

But,  as  long  as  he  lived,  he  was  intent  on  seeking  out  the 
lost  sheep.  Once  and  again  he  visited  Scotland ;  repeatedly 
he  went  to  Ireland ;  and  Wales  was  often  cheered  by  his 
presence,  and  enlivened  by  his  preaching.  He  was  wont  to 
describe  himself  facetiously,  as  "the  Rector  of  Surrey 
Chapel,  Vicar  of  Wotton-under-Edge,  and  Curate  of  all  the 
Fields,  Commons,  etc.,  throughout  England  and  Wales." 
His  ministry  was  prolonged  for  sixty-six  years,  during 
which  time  he  had  preached  more  than  23,000  times,  aver- 
aging nearly  one  sermon  daily  for  the  whole  period. 


ROWLAND  HILL.  329 

Notwithstanding  this  incessant  activity  as  a  preacher,  lie 
found  opportunity  for  the  frequent  use  of  the  press.  He 
published :  "  Imposture  Detected  and  the  Dead  vindicated  " 
(1777) ;  "Answer  to  J.  Wesley's  Remarks  upon  the  Defence 
of  the  Character  of  Whitefield  and  others  "  (1778);  "Aphor- 
istic Observations  proposed  to  the  Consideration  of  the 
Public  respecting  the  Propriety  of  admitting  Theatrical 
Amusements  into  Country  Manufacturing  Towns  "  (1790) ; 
"  Expostulatory  Letter  to  W.  D.  Tattersall,  A.M.,  in  which 
the  bad  Tendency  of  the  Admission  of  Stage  Amusements 
is  seriously  considered  "  (1795);  "  Journal  of  a  Tour  through 
the  North  of  England,  and  Parts  of  Scotland,  with  Remarks 
on  the  present  State  of  the  Church  of  Scotland "  (1799) ; 
"Extract  from  a  Journal  of  a  second  Tour  from  London 
through  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  the  North-Western 
Parts  of  England"  (1800);  "A  Plea  for  Union  and  a  free 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  being  an  Answer  to  Dr.  Jamie- 
son's  Remarks  on  the  Author's  Tour  "  (1800) ;  "  Village  Di- 
alogues, 2  vols."  (1801),  to  which  a  third  volume  was  added 
in  1824;  "Apology  for  Sunday- Schools "  (1801);  "Cow- 
pock  Inoculation  vindicated  "  (1806) ;  "  A  Warning  to  Chris- 
tian Professors  "  (1806) ;  "  Investigation  of  the  Nature  and 
Effects  of  Parochial  Assessments  being  charged  on  Places 
of  Religious  Worship  "  (1811) ;  "  Letter  on  Roman  Catholic 
Emancipation  "  (1813) ;  besides  several  occasional  Sermons. 
As  early  as  1774,  he  put  forth  a  "  Collection  of  Psalms 
and  Hymns,"  chiefly  for  the  use  of  the  Poor.  Another 
"  Collection  "  appeared  in  1783,  the  year  of  the  opening  of 
Surrey  Chapel,  and,  in  1796,  stiU  another  "Collection," 
"chiefly  intended  for  Public  Worship."  The  latter  con- 
tains 302  hymns,  of  which  some,  as  he  says  in  his  Preface, 
"are  by  no  means  the  better  for  being  new."  "Divine 
Hymns  for  the  Use  of  Children"  appeared  in  1790,  of 
which  a  new  edition,  "principally  intended  for  the  Use 
of  Sunday-Schools,"  prepared  for  the  Southwark  Sunday- 
School  Society,  containing  264  hymns,  was  issued  in  1819. 
In  the  Preface  to  this  book,  he  says,  that  his  earlier  hymns 
'had  passed  under  the  correcting  pen  of  the  inimitable 


330  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Cowper, — a  liberty  I  presumed  to  request  from  an  acquaint' 
ance  with  that  great  and  truly  good  man  in  the  youngei 
part  of  my  life." 

As  years  declined  and  strength  decayed,  he  abated  noth- 
ing of  his  fervid  zeal,  though  more  and  more  restricted  in 
its  exercise.  He  continued  in  active  service  until  a  very 
few  days  before  his  decease.  As  the  day  of  his  departure 
drew  near,  his  happy  spirit  hailed  its  approach,  and,  full  of 
the  triumphs  of  an  assured  hope  of  immortality,  he  ceased 
from  labor,  April  11,  1833,  and  entered  into  rest,  in  the 
eighty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

One  of  the  wittiest  men  that  ever  entered  a  pulpit,  he 
was  yet  one  of  the  most  serious.  His  preaching  was  full  of 
similes,  metaphors,  lively  narratives,  parabolical  illustra- 
tions, quaint  sayings,  and  even  humorous  conceits ;  yet 
with  all,  and  through  all,  he  sought  to  win  souls  to  Christ 
in  and  by  the  Gfospel.  He  was  a  Calvinist,  and  yet  none 
labored  more  than  he  to  bring  souls  to  Christ,  the. Master,— 
and  none  with  greater  success.  The  following  stanzas  from 
his  hymn  on  "A  Prayer  for  the  Promised  Rest,"  which  he 
regarded  as  the  best  among  the  many  that  he  wrote,  exhibit 
something  of  the  depth  of  his  piety,  and  the  singleness  of 
his  trust  in  divine  grace : 

"  Dear  Friend  of  friendless  sinners!  hear, 
And  magnify  thy  grace  divine ; 
Pardon  a  worm  that  would  draw  near, 

That  would  his  heart  to  thee  resign : — 
A  worm,  by  self  and  sin  oppressed, 
That  pants  to  reach  thy  promised  rest. 

"  With  holy  fear  and  reverend  love, 

I  long  to  lie  beneath  thy  throne ; 
I  long  in  thee  to  live  and  move. 

And  charge  myself  on  thee  alone : 
Teach  me  to  lean  upon  thy  breast, 
To  find  in  thee  the  promised  rest. 

"  Take  me,  my  Saviour !  as  thine  own, 
And  vmdicate  my  righteous  cause ; 


AUGUSTUS  LUCAS  HILLHOUSE.  331 

Be  thou  my  portion,  Lord !  alone, 
And  bend  me  to  obey  thy  laws ; 
In  thy  dear  arms  of  love  caressed, 
Give  me  to  find  thy  promised  rest." 


AUGUSTUS  LUCAS  HILLHOUSE. 
1792-1859. 

Mr.  HILLHOUSE  was  of  Irish  descent.  His  great-grand- 
father,  Rev.  James  H.  Hillhouse,  came  from  County  Derry, 
Ireland,  in  1720,  to  Connecticut,  and,  in  1722,  became,  until 
his  death  (1740),  the  first  pastor  of  the  second  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  New  London,  now  Montville,  Conn.  Will- 
iam, the  son  of  James  (1727-1816),  was,  for  fifty  years,  a 
member  of  the  Connecticut  Legislature ;  also,  a  Judge,  for 
forty  years,  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas;  and  (1788- 
1786)  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress ;— a  sterling 
patriot,  and  an  exemplary  Christian.  James,  the  son  of 
William  (1754-1832),  was  a  graduate  (1773)  of  Yale  Col- 
lege; a  Representative  (1791-1794),  and  a  Senator  (1794- 
1810),  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States ;  a  member  of 
the  famous  Hartford  Convention  (1814) ;  and  Treasurer  of 
Yale  College  (1782-1832).  His  wife,  a  daughter  of  Col. 
Melancthon  Woolsey,  of  Dosoris,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  was 
"  a  lady  of  great  refinement,  beauty,  and  strength  of  mind 
and  character." 

Augustus  Lucas,  the  son  of  Hon.  James  Hillhouse,  LL.D., 
was  born,  in  1792,  at  New  Haven,  Conn.,  about  two  years 
later  than  his  brother,  the  eminent  poet,  James  Abraham. 
"  Constitutionally  gentle,"  says  Rev.  Dr.  L.  Bacon,  "  affec- 
tionate, sensitive,  full  of  imagination,  he  was  the  idol  of 
his  sisters,  and  the  joy  and  hope  of  the  domestic  circle  in 
his  father's  house."  With  the  very  best  advantages  of 
education  in  his  boyhood,  he  entered  (1806)  Yale  College, 


332  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

where  the  development "  of  philosophic  and  poetic  thought. 
in  combination  with  genuine  piety,  as  evinced  in  his  rapid 
acquisition  of  knowledge,  gave  promise  of  a  bright  career 
of  usefulness."  He  numbered  among  his  classmates  such 
men  as  Gov.  Ellsworth,  and  Profs.  E.  T.  Fitch,  C.  A.  Good- 
rich, and  S.  F.  B.  Morse.  At  his  graduation  (1810),  he  had 
become  a  victim  of  chronic  dyspepsia, — a  malady  from 
which  he  suffered  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  followed  by 
the  general  pacification  of  Europe  (1816),  he  went  abroad 
for  his  health.  Landing  at  Bordeaux,  he  travelled  through 
the  south  of  France  to  Geneva,  and  thence  to  Paris,  where 
he  met  with  Robert  Haldane,  and  entered  heartily  into  his 
evangelizing  projects.  Fixing  his  abode  in  Paris,  he  united 
with  others  of  his  countrymen  in  organizing  the  American 
Protestant  Church,  to  which,  at  his  solicitation,  the  Rev. 
Matthias  Bruen,  of  New  York,  ministered  for  a  season. 
"  Nothing  would  have  been  done  at  all,"  says  Bruen,  "  had 
it  not  been  for  Hillhouse,  who  is  a  treasure  to  me  of  genius, 
and  intellect,  and  imagination,  and  Christian  principle,  so 
based  and  combined  as  it  never  was  in  any  other  mind." 

He  initiated  and  zealously  prosecuted  plans  for  the  spir- 
itual enlightenment  of  France,  He  began  the  publication 
of  a  Series  of  Tracts  in  French,  after  the  manner  of  the 
"  Cheap  Repository "  Series  of  Hannah  More,  with  whom 
he  put  himself  in  correspondence,  and  several  of  whose 
Tracts  he  revised  and  translated  for  the  French  market. 
In  1818,  he  published  an  "  Essay  on  the  History  and  Culti- 
vation of  the  European  Olive  Tree";  and,  in  1819,  a  Trans- 
lation, in  two  large  volumes,  of  Michaux's  "  Silva  Amer- 
icana." 

Early  in  1822,  he  sent  home  the  following  hymn,  pub- 
lished, originally,  in  the  April  Number  of  the  New  Haven 
Christian  Spectator  for  1822.  It  was  written  in  Paris,  and 
is  "  the  only  permanent  memorial  of  his  poetic  genius  that 
now  remains": 

"Trembling,  before  thine  awful  throne, 
O  Lord !  in  dust  mv  sins  I  own  • 


AUGUSTUS  LUCAS  HILLHOUSE.  333 

Justice  and  Mercy  for  my  life 

Contend !— Oh !  smile,  and  heal  the  strife. 

"  The  Saviour  smiles !  upon  my  soul 
New  tides  of  hope  tumultuovis  roll — 
His  voice  proclaims  iny  pardon  found — 
Seraphic  transport  wings  the  sound. 

"  Earth  has  a  joy  unknown  in  heaven — 
The  new-born  peace  of  sin  forgiven ! 
Tears  of  such  pure  and  deep  delight, 
Ye  Angels !  never  dimmed  your  sight. 

"Ye  saw,  of  old,  on  chaos  rise 
The  beauteous  pillars  of  the  skies ; 
Ye  know  where  Morn  exulting  springs, 
And  Evening  folds  her  di'ooping  wings. 

"  Bright  heralds  of  th'  Eternal  WiU, 
Abroad  his  errands  ye  fulfill ; 
Or,  throned  in  floods  of  beamy  day, 
Symphonious,  in  his  presence  play. 

"  Loud  is  the  song — the  heavenly  plain 
Is  shaken  with  the  choral  strain — 
And  dying  echoes,  floating  far. 
Draw  music  from  each  chiming  star. 

"  But  I  amid  your  quires  shall  shine, 
And  all  your  knowledge  will  be  mine ; 
Ye  on  your  harps  must  lean  to  hear 
A  secret  chord  that  mine  will  bear," 

Of  this  hymn,  Dr.  Bacon,  somewhat  extravagantly,  says, 
it  "  is  unsurpassed  in  the  English,  or  any  other,  language. 
Perhaps  it  is  as  near  perfection  as  an  uninspired  composi- 
tion can  be.  The  thought,  the  feeling,  the  imagery,  the 
diction,  and  the  versification,  are  all  exquisite."  It  is  bet- 
ter as  a  poem,  than  as  a  hymn.  It  lacks  some  of  the  best 
elements  of  a  devotional  lyric. 

Mr.  Hillhouse,  in  1823,  wrote  a  work,  which  he  called,— 
"  A  Demonstration  of  the  Natural  Method  in  Politics,  or 
the  Political  Experience  of  the  United  States,  applied  to 
Europe,"  an  abstract,  or  extended  notice,  of  which  he  pub- 


334  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

lished  (1826)  in  a  pam]pHet,  entitled,  —  "The  Natural 
Method  in  Politics,  being  the  Abstract  of  an  unpublished 
Work."  The  larger  work  remained  unpublished.  It  was 
reconstructed,  but  never  finished,  though  his  heart  was  set 
upon  it,  and  it  became  the  one  thought  and  purpose  of  his 
remaining  days. 

The  morbid  sensitiveness  of  his  highly  refined  nature, 
aggravated  by  the  painful  malady  that  had  so  remorselessly 
fastened  itself  upon  him,  developed  itself  at  length  in  a 
sort  of  monomania,  and  he  became  a  confirmed  recluse. 
Having  continued  a  resident  of  Paris  nearly  forty-three 
years,  without  once  revisiting  America,  he  died,  March  14, 
1859,  in  one  of  the  villages  near  the  great  city,  whither  he 
had  been  accustomed  to  resort  during  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer months.  In  this  rural  retreat,  he  made  hosts  of  friends 
among  the  poor  villagers,  who  knew  him  only  as  "  Monsieur 
Auguste,"  and  greatly  mourned  his  death.  His  remains 
were  sent  home,  and  deposited  in  the  beautiful  cemetery  of 
his  native  city. 


GEACE  WEBSTER  HINSDALE. 

1832 . 

Mrs.  Hit^^sdale  is  the  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  Prof. 
Charles  Brickett  Haddock,  D.D.  She  was  born,  in  1832,  at 
Hanover,  and  was  named  for  Grace  [Fletcher]  Webster,  the 
beloved  wife  of  her  father's  uncle,  Daniel  Webster.  She 
spent  her  youth,  and  was  educated,  in  her  native  town. 
In  1850,  she  became  the  wife  of  Theodore  Hinsdale,  Esq.,  a 
lawyer  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  a  resident  of  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.  In  1866,  she  published  "  Coming  to  the  King," 
and  later,  "  Thinldng  Aloud,"  one  a  manual  of  Prayers, 
the  other  a  series  of  meditations  on  passages  in  God's 
word,  designed  as  aids  to  children  in  the  offices  of  devo- 
tion.    These  little  volumes  were  subsequently  republished 


OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES.  335 

in  London.  She  lias  contributed  frequently,  both  prose 
and  poetry,  to  various  periodicals,  weekly  and  monthly. 
Four  of  her  poetic  tributes  are  to  be  found  in  Dr.  Schafi's 
"  Christ  in  Song."  The  following,  entitled,  "  My  Heavenly 
Friend,"  was  written  in  July,  1868 : 

"  Jesus!  the  rays  divine, 
Which  from  thy  presence  shine, 
Cast  Hght  o'er  depths  profound, 
Which  ia  thy  word  are  f  otmd, 
And  lead  me  on. 

"  The  love  within  thine  eye 
Oft  checks  the  rising  sigh ; 
The  touch  of  thy  dear  hand 
Answers  my  heart's  demand. 
And  comforts  me. 

"  Yes,  Lord!  iu  hours  of  gloom, 
When  shadows  fill  my  room, 
When  pain  breathes  forth  its  groans. 
And  grief  its  sighs  and  moans, 
Then  thou  art  near. 

"  Oh!  wiU  it  always  be 

That  thou  wilt  comfort  me  ? 
When  friends  are  far  away, 
WUt  thou,  my  Saviour  1  stay, 
And  soothe  my  pain  ? 

"  Jesus !  thou  art  my  life ; 
No  more  I  dread  the  strife; 
The  rays  of  hght  divine, 
Wliich  from  thy  presence  shine, 
Fall  o'er  my  heart." 


OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES. 

1809 . 

Dr.  Holmes  has  acquired  a  brilliant  reputation  as  an 
essayist,  an  author,  and  a  poet.     His  hymns  are  few,  but 


336  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

good ;  his  poetic  vein  runs  rather  in  another  line.  He  is 
the  elder  son  of  the  Rev.  Abiel  Holmes,  D.D.,  LL.D.  (well 
kno^vn  as  the  author  of  the  "American  Annals,"  2  vols., 
1805),  and  Sarah,  the  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Oliver  Wen- 
dell, of  Boston.  His  father  was  (1792-1832)  pastor  of  the 
First  Congregational  Church,  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  where,* 
August  29,  1809,  the  son  was  born,  and  named  for  his 
maternal  grandfather.  His  paternal  grandfather,  David 
Holmes,  was  an  army  surgeon  and  physician,  in  the  French 
and  Revolutionary  Wars,  having  died  during  the  latter,  in 
1779. 

In  the  literary  atmosphere  of  Cambridge,  young  Holmes 
enjoyed  every  advantage  for  the  highest  intellectual  cul- 
ture. He  fitted  for  College  at  Phillips  Academy,  Exeter, 
N.  H.;  entered  Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  in  1825 ;  and 
graduated,  A.B.,  in  1829.  One  year  was  given  to  the  study 
of  law,  during  which  he  wrote  twenty-five  poetic  pieces  for 
The  Collegian,  a  periodical  published  by  the  college  boys 
at  Cambridge.  He  then  began  the  study  of  medicine,  and 
in  1833  contributed  other  productions  of  his  muse  to  T7ie 
Harbinger,  Boston.  The  same  year  he  visited  Europe,  and 
prosecuted  his  medical  studies  at  Paris.  He  returned  in 
1836,  and  took  the  degree  of  M.D.  at  Harvard.  His  first 
volume  of  "  Poems  "  appeared  in  1836.  He  was  appointed 
(1838)  Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology  in  Dartmouth 
College,  N.  H. ;  and,  the  same  year,  he  published  his  "Boyl- 
ston  Prize  Dissertations."  In  1840,  he  married  a  daughter 
of  the  Hon.  Charles  Jackson,  of  Boston,  whither  he  removed 
and  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine.  In  1842,  he  pub- 
lished his  "  Lectures  on  Homoeopathy,"  etc. ;  and,  in  1848, 
his  "Report  of  Medical  Literature."  In  1847,  he  became 
Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology  in  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, which  position  he  occupied  until  1882,  when  he  was 
appointed  Emeritus  Professor  of  Anatomy,  "  iu  considera- 
tion of  his  valuable  services  to  the  Medical  School  during 
the  past  thirty-five  years." 

Besides  several  medical  publications,  he  has  been  a  con- 
stant contributor  to  the  Magazines  and  Re  views,— the  Knick- 


OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES.  337 

erhocker,  tlie  NortTi  American,  and,  notably,  \h%  Atlantic ; 
of  the  latter  Magazine,  begun  in  1857,  lie  may  properly  be 
regarded  as  tlie  chief  founder,  and  from  its  beginning,  the 
chief  attraction.  "  The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table," 
"  The  Professor  at  the  Breakfast  Table,"  and  "  The  Poet  at 
the  Breakfast  Table,"  three  brilliant  Series  of  Essays,  ap- 
peared first  in  The  Atlantic.  In  1843,  appeared  his  "  Terp- 
sichore"; in  1846,  his  "Urania";  and,  in  1850,  his  "  As- 
traea. "  His  "  Poems  "  have  been  frequently  republished  both 
in  England  and  America.  His  "  Elsie  Venner  "  appeared 
in  1861 ;  his  "  Guardian  Angel,"  in  1867  ;  and  his  "  Mechan- 
ism in  Thought  and  Morals,"  in  1871. 

He  has  also  distinguished  himself  as  a  public  lecturer. 
His  course  of  lectures  on  "  The  English  Poets  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century,"  delivered  in  1852,  gave  great  satisfaction. 
Many  of  his  shorter  poems  have  been  produced  almost  im 
promptu,  on  festive,  social,  and  prandial  occasions.  They 
abound  in  fine  conceits,  terse  and  epigrammatic  sayings, 
caustic  wit,  and  broad  humor.  "  His  fancy  teems  with 
bright  and  appropriate  images,  ....  woven  into  his  plan 
usually  with  exquisite  finish  and  grace.  His  artistic  merits 
are  very  great ;  his  versification  is  never  slovenly,  nor  his 
diction  meagre  or  coarse  ;  and  many  of  his  shorter  pieces 
are  inwrought  with  so  much  fire  and  imagination  as  to 
rank  among  our  best  lyrics."  So  says  Prof.  Bowen.  His 
friend  Lowell,  in  his  "  Fable  for  Critics,"  quaintly  and  hu- 
morously says : 

"  You  went  crazy  last  year  over  Bulwer's  New  Timon: 
Why,  if  B.,  to  the  day  of  his  dying-,  should  rhyme  on, 
Heaping  verses  on  verses,  and  tomes  upon  tomes, 
He  could  ne'er  reach  the  best  point  and  vigor  of  Holmes. 
His  are  just  the  fine  hands,  too,  to  weave  you  a  lyric 
Full  of  fancy,  fun,  feeling,  or  spiced  with  satiric, 
In  so  kindly  a  measure,  that  nobody  knows 
What  to  do,  but  e'en  join  in  the  laugh,  friends  and  foes." 

His  "  Hymn  of  Trust "  is  a  fair  specimen  of  his  lyric 

art: 

"  O  Love  divine !  that  stooped  to  share 
Our  sharpest  pang,  our  bitterest  tear, 
22 


838  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

On  thee  we  cast  each  earth-born  care ; 
We  smile  at  pain  while  Thou  art  near! 

"  Though  long  the  weary  way  we  tread, 
And  sorrow  crown  each  lingering  year, 
No  path  we  shun,  no  darkness  dread, 

Our  hearts  still  whispering, — Thou  art  near  I 

"  When  drooping  pleasure  turns  to  grief. 
And  trembling  faith  is  changed  to  fear, 
The  murm'ring  wind,  the  quivering  leaf, 
Shall  softly  tell  us, — Thou  art  near  I 

"  On  thee  we  fling  our  burdening  woe, 
O  Love  diviae,  for  ever  dear ! 
Content  to  suffer,  whUe  we  know. 
Living  and  dying, — Thou  art  near! " 


HENRY  JOY  Mccracken  hope. 

1809-1872. 

Mr.  Hope  was  the  son  of  James  Hope,  and  was  bom  (1809) 
near  Belfast,  Ireland.  At  a  suitable  age  lie  was  bound 
as  an  apprentice  to  the  art  and  business  of  book-binding. 
In  1846,  lie  entered  the  finishing  department  of  the  station- 
ery establishment  of  the  Messrs.  Chambers,  at  Dublin,  and 
continued  to  be  thus  employed  until  his  death.  He  was, 
from  an  early  period  of  his  life,  deeply  interested  in  relig- 
ion.    The  hymn,  beginning 

"  Now  I  have  found  a  Friend," 

seems  to  have  been  his  only  production  of  the  kind  made 
public.  It  was  printed,  in  1852,  for  circulation  among  his 
personal  friends.  He  died,  January  19, 1872,  at  Shanema- 
gowston,  Dunadry,  County  Antrim,  Ireland. 


JOSIAH  HOPKINS.  339 

JOSIAH  HOPKINS. 

1786-1862. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Hopkins  was  the  son  of  Ebenezer  Hopkins 
and  Rachel  Mead,  residents  of  Pittsford,  Vermont,  wliere, 
April  25, 1786,  he  was  born.  His  educational  advantages 
were  quite  limited.  Having  determined  to  devote  himself 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  he  studied  (1808),  for  a  short 
time,  under  the  direction  of  his  pastor,  the  Rev.  Holland 
Weeks  ;  and,  then,  with  the  Rev.  Lemuel  Haynes,  the  fa- 
mous mulatto  pastor  of  the  West  parish  in  the  adjacent 
town  of  Rutland.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
by  the  Pawlet  Association,  at  their  spring  meeting  (1809) 
in  Granville,  N.  Y.  A  short  service  as  a  missionary  in  the 
towns  on  the  west  border  of  Lake  Champlain,  N.  Y.,  was 
followed  by  a  call  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  New  Haven,  Addison  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  he 
was  ordained,  June  14,  1809. 

Though  in  a  remote  rural  parish,  he  made  such  full  proof 
of  his  ministry,  that  he  was  soon  known  as  an  uncommonly 
thoughtful  and  judicious  preacher.  Students  from  the 
neighboring  College  of  Middlebury,  Vt.,  after  their  gradu- 
ation, were  accustomed  to  resort  to  Mr.  Hopkins  for  in- 
struction in  theology.  For  this  purpose,  he  prepared  an 
admirable  course  of  theological  lectures,  which  he  pub- 
lished, in  1825,  with  the  title, — "  The  Christian's  Instructor, 
containing  a  Summary  Explanation  and  Defence  of  the 
Doctrines  and  Duties  of  the  Christian  Religion."  It  has 
passed  through  several  editions. 

A  more  extended  field  was  opened  for  him,  and,  August 
20, 1830,  he  was  dismissed  from  his  Vermont  charge  (wliere 
he  had  been  favored,  in  1816,  and  in  1822,  with  precious  re- 
vivals of  religion),  to  accept  a  call  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  as  the  suc- 
cessor of  the  Rev.  Dirk  C.  Lansing,  D.D.  He  was  installed 
at  Auburn,  September  28,  1830.     He  continued  in  this  re- 


340  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

sponsible  post,  useful  and  honored,  until  April,  1846,  when, 
his  health  having  been  so  seriously  impaired  that  he  could 
no  longer  occupy  the  pulpit,  he  resigned  his  charge.  After 
a  short  residence  at  Chagrin  Falls,  Ohio,  he  returned  to 
'New  York,  and  found  a  home  at  Seneca  Falls,  ministering, 
as  health  pennitted,  to  the  Church  at  Union  Springs.  He 
died,  June  27, 1862,  at  Geneva,  N.  Y. 

He  married,  first,  Miss  Oriel  Dyke,  of  Chittenden,  Vt. ; 
and,  after  her  decease.  Miss  Lavinia  Fenton,  of  Rutland, 
Vt.  In  connection  with  Mr.  Henry  Ivison,  Jr.,  then  of 
Auburn  but  now  of  New  York,  he  compiled,  and  pub- 
lished, in  1847,  a  Selection  of  "  Conference  Hymns  Adapted 
to  Religious  Conferences,  and  Meetings  for  Prayer.  To 
which  is  Added  a  Selection  of  the  most  favorite  Melodies 
in  Common  Use."  The  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  was  con 
ferred  on  him,  in  1843,  by  Middlebury  College,  Vt. 


JOSEPH  HOSKINS. 
1745-1788. 

Me.  Hoskit^s  was  a  Baptist  minister,  at  Bristol,  England. 
The  year  after  his  decease,  appeared  "Hymns  on  Select 
Texts  of  Scripture,  and  Occasional  Subjects,  By  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Hoskins,  Late  Minister  of  the  Gospel  at  Castle 
Green  Meeting,  Bristol.  Carefully  corrected  and  revised 
By  the  Rev.  James  Moody,  of  Warwich,  And  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Bottomley,  Bristol,  1789."  From  the  "Preface,"  it  seems, 
"  that  the  whole  of  the  compositions  [384]  were  written  in 
about  the  last  three  years  of  his  life."  All  that  is  known 
of  his  personal  history  is  gathered  from  an  Epitaph,  de- 
signed for  his  tombstone  in  "  the  Baptist  Burying  Ground  " 
at  Bristol,  and  prefixed  to  his  volume  of  "  Hymns  ": 

"  Here  lie  interred  the  Mortal  Remains  of  the  Rev.  Jo- 
seph Hoskins,  the  lively,  active,  and  successful  Minister  of 


WILLIAM  WALSHAM  HOW.  341 

the  Cliurcli  of  Christ  assembling  in  Castle-Green,  in  this 
City :  Who  (by  the  blessing  of  God  on  his  labors),  in  the 
course  of  ten  years  that  he  presided  over  the  Church  as  a 
faithful  Pastor,  raised  it,  from  a  low  and  languid  estate,  to 
a  truly  respectable  and  flourishing  condition.  Fully  to  de- 
clare the  sweetness  of  his  manners  and  deportment,  the 
warmth  and  steadiness  of  his  friendship,  his  zeal  and  alac- 
rity to  do  good  to  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men,  would 
require  more  room  than  this  Monumental  Table  will  admit. 
The  soundness  of  his  doctrine,  clearly  and  experimentally 
delivered,  and  finely  illustrated  from  Scripture ;  the  mel- 
ody of  his  voice,  the  justness  of  his  action.  Joined  to  a  free 
and  native  eloquence  which  God  had  given  him,  made  him 
a  great  and  an  agreeable  preacher  ;  whilst  the  boldness  of 
his  address,  and  the  closeness  of  his  application,  forced  (as 
it  were)  conviction  on  the  souls  of  men  ; — and  that  amazing 
gift  in  prayer,  with  which  God  had  blessed  him,  raised  him 
to  the  highest  pitch  of  admiration. 

"  That  the  great  Master  of  Assemblies  held  him  in  his 
hand  as  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude,  cannot  justly  be  de- 
nied :  He  lent  him  to  the  churches  as  a  bright  and  shin- 
ing light  for  a  season ;  He  has  now  -withdrawn  him  to 
realms  of  light  and  bliss  above,  where  the  shafts  of  envy 
and  detraction  cannot  reach  him.  He  died  on  the  28th 
day  of  September,  1788,  aged  43  years." 

Twenty-one  of  his  hymns  are  found  in  Dobell's  Selection. 


WILLIAM  WALSHAM  HOW. 

1823 . 

The  poetry  of  Mr.  How  is  of  a  good  order,  and  his  sacred 
lyrics  have  been  well  received.  He  is  a  native  of  Shrews- 
bury, Shropshire,  England,  and  the  son  of  William  Wy- 
berg  How,  Esq.,  Solicitor,  of  Nearwell.     He  was  born,  De- 


342  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

cember  13, 1823.  He  was  fitted  for  tlie  University,  at  tlie 
Royal  Free  Grammar-Scliool  of  that  town,  then  under  the 
care  of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Hall  Kennedy,  D.D.  He  en-' 
tered  Wadham  College,  Oxford,  in  1841,  and  graduated, 
B.  A.,  in  1845.  Appointed  the  Curate  of  one  of  the  churches 
of  Kidderminster,  Worcestershire,  he  was  ordained  a  dea- 
con, December  20, 1846,  and  a  priest,  December  19,  1847,  by 
the  Bishop  of  Worcester.  In  1851,  he  obtained  the  Rectory 
of  Wittington,  near  Oswestry,  Shropshire. 

He  published:  in  1852,  "Daily  Family  Prayer,  chiefly 
from  the  Prayer  Book";  in  1859,  "Plain  Words,  or  Six 
Short  Sermons,"  and,  in  1861,  a  "Second  Series";  in  1860, 
"Psalm  LL,  a  Course  of  Seven  Sermons";  and,  in  1861, 
"Prayers  for  Schools."  In  connection  with  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Baker  Morrell,  he  compiled,  and  published  (1854), 
a  volume  of  "Psalms  and  Hymns,"  of  which  a  later  edition 
(1872)  contains  a  "Supplement"  and  "Church  Hymns." 
The  following  is  one  of  his  hymns  for  children : 

"  Lord!  this  day  thy  children  meet 
In  thy  courts  with  willing  feet ; 
Unto  thee  this  day  they  raise 
Grateful  hearts  in  hymns  of  praise. 

"  Not  alone  the  day  of  rest 
With  thy  worship  shall  he  blessed ; 
In  our  pleasure  and  our  glee, 
Lord !  we  would  remember  thee. 

"  All  our  pleasures  here  below, 
Saviour !  from  thy  mercy  flow ; 
But,  if  earth  has  joys  like  this, 
What  shall  be  our  heavenly  bliss  ? 

"  Make,  O  Lord!  our  childhood  shine 
With  aU  lovely  grace,  like  thine ; 
Then,  through  all  eternity, 
We  shall  live  in  heaven  with  thee." 


JOSEPH  HUMPHEEYS.  343 

JOSEPH  HUMPHREYS. 

1720 0) 

Me.  Humphreys  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Asher  Hum- 
phreys, Rector  of  Barton,  Hertfordshire,  and  subsequently 
of  Burford,  Oxfordshire.  He  was  born,  October  28,  1720, 
at  Burford.  At  the  age  of  ten,  he  was  sent  to  a  grammar- 
school  at  Faii'ford,  Gloucestershire.  His  father  died  in 
1732,  and  he  was  sent,  at  the  age  of  twelve,  to  a  theological 
school  in  London.  In  1738,  having  become  a  convert  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  Wesleys,  he  began  to  preach  at  the  Foun- 
dry, London,  also  at  Bristol  and  elsewhere.  He  attached 
himseK  ^particularly  to  John  Cennick,  and  accompanied  him 
frequently  on  his  evangelistic  tours.  For  his  irregularities 
in  these  respects,  he  was  expelled,  December  25, 1739,  from 
the  school. 

Following  the  example  of  Cennick,  he  separated,  April, 
1741,  from  the  Wesleys,  and  attached  himself  to  White- 
field.  Shortly  after,  he  published,  at  Bristol  (1741),  "A 
Letter  to  the  Religious  Societies,  in  Testimony  against  the 
Errors  of  Universal  Redemption  and  Sinless  Perfection." 
The  same  year,  he  preached  for  the  Moravians  at  Deptford, 
West  Greenwich.  He  was,  also,  one  of  the  four  principal 
contributors  to  The  Weekly  History^  just  then  established, 
in  the  interest  of  the  new  religious  movement.  Several  of 
his  "  Letters  to  John  Wesley,"  in  opposition  to  his  peculiar 
views,  are  printed  in  this  Journal. 

He  now  published  (1742),  at  Bristol,  "An  Account  of 
Joseph  Humphreys'  Experience  of  the  Work  of  Grace 
upon  his  Heart."  He  was  a  frequent  preacher  at  the 
Bowling  Green,  Bristol,  and  the  Tabernacle,  London.  In 
January,  1743,  he  united  with  several  clergymen  and  lay- 
preachers  in  organizing,  near  Cardiff,  Wales,  the  first  Cal- 
vinistic  Methodist  Society  in  the  Principality.  Attached 
to  Cennick's  "  Sacred  Hymns,"  Part  II.,  published  in  1743, 
are  six  hymns,  introduced  with  this  remark, — "  These  were 


344  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

done  by  Mr.  Joseph  Humplireys."  Among  these  is  the 
familiar  hymn, 

"Blessed  are  tlie  sons  of  God,"  etc. 

In  the  modern  f  oim  common  to  all  the  Collections,  the  re- 
frain to  each  stanza  is  taken  (as  arranged  by  Martin  Madan, 
1760)  from  the  latter  half- of  the  last  stanza  of  the  original, 
without  change  in  the  text. 

Wesley,  in  his  diary  for  April  3,  1746,  says :  "  I  spent 
an  agfeeable  hour  with  our  old  fellow-laborer,  Mr.  Hum- 
phreys. I  found  him  open  and  friendly,  but  rigorously  te- 
nacious of  the  unconditional  decrees."  From  "The  Cente- 
nary Services  of  Bristol  Tabernacle  "  (1753),  it  appears  that 
he  continued  to  preach  at  Bristol  many  years.  Among  those 
who  ministered  at  the  Tabernacle  after  its  erection  in  1753, 
"  honorable  mention  is  made  of  Mr.  Humphreys,  who  seems 
to  have  been  a  prudent  and  zealous  man."  His  later  his- 
tory is  involved  in  much  obscurity.  John  Wesley,  in  his 
Journal,  for  SeiDtember  9,  1790,  says  of  him :  "  In  a  while 
he  renounced  Mr.  Whitefield,  and  was  ordained  a  Presby- 
terian minister.  At  last  he  received  Episcopal  ordination. 
He  then  scoft'ed  at  inward  religion,  and,  when  reminded  of 
his  own  '  Exi^erience,'  replied,  '  that  was  one  of  the  foolish 
things  which  I  wrote  in  the  times  of  my  madness.' "  Pos- 
sibly this  statement  should  be  taken  with  considerable  al- 
lowance, as  a  matter  of  rumor.  Gadsby  says :  "  He  died  in 
London,  and  was  buried  in  the  Moravian  Cemetery  at  Chel- 
sea." The  following  hymn,  found  in  Dobell's,  Bicker- 
Bteth's,  and  Spurgeon's  Collections,  is  in  his  usual  vein : 

"  Come,  gnilty  souls,  and  flee  away 
»  To  Christ,  who  heals  our  wounds; 

This  is  the  welcome  Gospel  day, 
Wherein  free  grace  abounds. 

"  God  loved  the  world,  and  gave  his  Son 
To  di'ink  the  cup  of  wrath ; 
And  Jesus  says — he'll  cast  out  none 
That  come  to  him  by  faith. 


JOB  HUPTON.  345 

**  Then,  wandering  souls !  to  God  return, 
Free  pardon  he  will  give ; 
Look  on  your  pierced  Lord,  and  mourn, 
And  endless  life  receive." 


JOB    HUPTON. 
1762-1849. 

The  "  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Poems  "  of  Job  Hiipton  were 
reprinted  (1861)  by  Daniel  Sedgwick,  of  London,  with  a 
brief  Memoir.  Mr.  Hupton  was  born,  March,  1762,  on  the 
borders  of  Needwood  Forest,  near  Burton-iipon-Trent,  Staf- 
fordshire. He  was  trained,  by  a  godly  mother,  to  fear  the 
Lord.  Yet,  notmthstanding  occasional  serious  impressions, 
he  allowed  himself  to  be  led  astray  by  profane  comi^anions. 
From  an  early  age  until  he  attained  his  majority,  he  labored 
at  the  forge. 

He  was  converted  (1784),  in  his  twenty-third  year,  at 
Walsall,  near  Birmingham,  by  means  of  a  sermon  preached 
by  the  Rev.  John  Bradford,  Curate  of  Frilsham,  Bedford- 
shire, a  very  popular  clergyman,  who  ministered  frequently 
in  Lady  Huntingdon's  chapels,  and  particularly  at  Birming- 
ham. He  determined  to  study  for  the  ministry,  and  spent 
a  short  period  at  the  college  in  Trevecca,  Wales.  He  was 
then  employed,  for  several  years,  as  an  itinerant  preacher 
in  Lady  Huntingdon's  Connection.  In  September,  1794, 
having  adopted  the  views  of  the  Baptists,  he  became  the 
pastor  of  a  Baptist  church,  in  the  rural  parish  of  Claxton, 
Norf  olkshire.  His  ministry  was  protracted  more  than  sixty 
years.  He  died,  October  19, 1849,  in  the  eighty-eighth  year 
of  his  age. 

He  was  accustomed  to  write,  occasionally  (1803-1809)  for 
the  Oospel  Magazine,  both  in  poetry  and  prose.  His  prose 
articles  were  gathered,  and  issued  (1843)  in  a  volume  with 
the  title,  "  The  Truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus," — a  service,  similai 


346  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

to  that  rendered  by  Mr.  Sedgwick  (1861)  in  respect  to  hia 
poems.  His  versification  was  quite  respectable.  Some  of 
his  poetry  has  genuine  merit,  as  in  his  "  Praise  to  Jesus," 
of  which  the  first  two  stanzas  are  here  given : 

"  Jesus,  the  Saviour,  praise, 

Who  left  his  throne  above ; 
Bring  him,  ye  saints  I  jour  choicest  lays, 

For  all  his  love : 
For  his  beloved  bride. 

That  he  might  make  her  free, 
He  hung,  and  bled,  and  groaned,  and  died, 

On  yonder  tree. 

"  Jesus,  the  Saviour,  praise, 

Who  rose  and  left  the  dead, 
And  lives,  through  everlasting  days. 

Our  glorious  Head : 
All  power  to  him  belongs ; 

All  grace  ia  him  abounds ; 
Praise  him  in  grateful,  cheerful  songs, 

With  sweetest  sounds. " 


WILLIAM  HURN. 

1754-1829. 

Mr.  HuRisr  was  born  a  Churchman,  became,  and  for  a  long 
term  of  years  continued,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  then,  for  conscience'  sake,  attached  himself  to  the 
Dissenting  ministry.  He  was  born,  December  21, 1754,  at 
the  fine  old  manor-house  of  Breccles  Hall,  in  the  southern 
part  of  Norfolkshire.  In  early  youth  he  gave  evidence  of 
more  than  ordinary  mental  power.  Though  not  a  Univer- 
sity graduate,  his  early  education  was  superior.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-three  (1777),  he  was  appointed  the  Classical 
Tutor  of  the  Free  Grammar-School,  Dedham,  Essex,  of  which 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Grim  wood  was  the  Principal.     He  entered  the 


WILLIAM  HXTRN.  347 

army  iu  1779;  but,  having  determined  to  seek  the  ministry, 
he  resigned  his  commission  the  next  year. 

He  was  ordained  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Philip  Yonge,  the 
Bishop  of  Norwich,  to  the  diaconate,  in  1781,  and  to  the 
priesthood,  in  1782.  He  officiated  successively,  for  five 
years  (1781-1785),  in  the  parishes  of  Beighton,  Broome, 
Rattlesden,  and  Stowmarket,  Suffolkshire.  In  1786,  he  be- 
came, for  the  first  time,  a  subject  of  divine  grace,  and  de- 
voted himself  to  the  great  work  of  saving  souls,  becoming 
a  resident  on  his  cure  at  Rattlesden.  In  1788,  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  Chaplain  of  the  Duchess  Dowager  of  Chandos ; 
and,  in  1789,  married  Sarah,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Whar- 
rie,  Esq.,  of  Hull.  The  next  year,  he  was  presented  to  the 
Vicarage  of  Debenham,  Sufi'olk.  Having  cultivated  this 
field  most  faithfully  and  successfully  for  twenty-four  years, 
he  took  (1814)  the  adjacent  Curacy  of  Ashfield-cum-Thorpe, 
in  order  to  extend  his  usefulness. 

Having  for  twenty  years  been  troubled  in  respect  to  the 
secular  character  of  the  Established  Church,  he,  at  length, 
October  13, 1822,  withdrew  from  it,  and  resigned  his  living. 
In  April,  1823,  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  supply  the  Dis- 
senting chapel  at  Woodbridge,  about  ten  miles  east  of  Ips- 
wich, in  the  same  county,  and  in  July  following  became 
the  pastor  of  the  congregation.  Here  for  six  years  and 
more  he  labored  with  great  fidelity  and  acceptableness,  un- 
til, after  a  short  illness,  he  died,  October  9, 1829,  in  great 
peace  of  mind,  and  full  of  hope. 

During  his  Tutorship  at  Dedham,  he  published  a  de- 
scriptive poem,  entitled,  "Heath  Hill."  After  he  entered 
the  ministry,  he  published  (1784)  a  lyric  poem,  called  "  The 
Blessings  of  Peace."  Besides  five  single  sermons,  printed 
occasionally,  he  gave  to  the  press  (1823)  "  A  Farewell  Tes- 
timony," being  his  "  Two  Discourses  "  at  Debenham,  on 
withdrawing  from  the  '•'  Establishment,"  with  large  addi- 
tions.    After  his  removal  to  Woodbridge,  he  published 

(1827)  "A  Glance  at  the  Stage  by  the  Light  of  Truth,"  and 

(1828)  "  A  Scriptural  Guide  to  the  Knowledge  of  the  Gos- 
pel, in  the  Form  of  Catechism." 


848  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

At  an  earlier  period  (1813),  while  at  Debenham,  he  had 
comiDiled  and  published  a  volume  of  "  Psalms  and  Hymns : 
the  greater  Part  Original,  and  the  Selected  Compositions 
altered  with  a  view  to  Purity  of  Doctrine  and  general  Use- 
fulness." After  his  removal,  he  put  forth  (1824)  a  second 
edition,  with  the  title,  "  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs,  \vith 
metrical  versions  from  the  Psalms,  designed  to  teach  the 
Christian  Doctrine  according  to  the  Analogy  of  Scripture, 
by  combining  Knowledge  and  Practice,  or  the  Duties  with 
the  Principles  of  the  Gospel ;  containing  420  original  com- 
positions." 

He  left  in  manuscript  a  carefully  prepared  work  (pub- 
lished, 1830),  entitled,  "  Reasons  for  Secession  from  the 
Church  of  England."  "  Brief  Memorials  of  WUliam  Hurn  " 
appeared  in  1831,  edited  by  his  two  adopted  daughters, 
Esther  Cooke  and  Ellen  Rouse.  The  following  stanzas 
fi'om  one  of  his  hymns  (1813)  are  pleasing  specimens  of  his 
manner  and  s^Dirit : 

"  There  is  a  river,  deep  and  broad, 
Its  course  no  mortal  kaows ; 
It  fills  with  joy  the  Church  of  God 
And  widens  as  it  flows. 

"Clearer  than  crystal  is  the  stream, 
And  bright  with  endless  day ; 
The  waves  with  every  blessing  teem, 
And  life  and  health  convey. 

"Along  the  shores,  angelic  bands 
Watch  every  moving  wave ; 
With  holy  joy  their  breast  expands, 
When  men  the  waters  crave. 

"Flow  on,  sweet  stream!  more  largely  flow, 
The  eai'th  with  glory  flll; 
Flow  on,  till  all  the  Saviour  know, 
And  all  obey  his  will." 


ABIGAIL  [BEADLEY]  HYDE.  349 

ABIGAIL  [BRADLEY]  HYDE. 

1799-1872. 

Mes.  Hyde  was  the  wife  of  a  Congregational  minister  of 
New  England.  Slie  was  bom,  September  28, 1799,  at  Stock- 
bridge,  Mass.  Her  parents  were  Asahel  Ives  Bradley  and 
Abigail  Rogers.  She  was  religiously  trained,  and  in  her 
thirteenth  year  was  admitted  to  the  church  under  the  pas- 
toral care  of  the  venerable  Dr.  Stephen  West,  one  of  the 
acutest  theologians  of  the  Hopkinsian  school.  During  the 
next  two  years,  she  was  favored  wdth  the  ministry  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  while  at  school  on  Litchfield 
Hill,  Conn.  She  was  distinguished  even  then  for  her  in- 
telligent and  consistent  piety. 

She  was  married,  September  28, 1818,  to  the  Rev.  Lavius 
Hyde  (1789-1865).  Her  husband's  first  pastoral  charge  was 
(1818-1822)  at  Salisbury,  Conn.  He  was  settled  successively 
at  Bolton,  Conn.  (1822-1830) ;  at  Ellington,  Conn.  (1830- 
1835) ;  at  Wayland,  Mass.  (1835-1840) ;  at  Becket,  Mass. 
(1841-1849);  and  again  at  Bolton,  Conn.  (1849-1860). 
Their  next  residence  was  at  Vernon,  Conn.  (1860-1865), 
until  the  death  of  Mr.  Hyde.  The  years  of  her  widowhood 
were  passed  among  her  four  surviving  children  (other  four 
having  died),  and  chiefly  at  the  home  of  her  only  son,  in  An- 
dover.  Conn.,  where,  April  7, 1872,  she  died  in  peace. 

Mrs.  Hyde  in  early  life  had  developed  a  considerable  fa- 
cility in  the  poetic  art.  After  a  visit,  in  1821,  to  the  Rev. 
Elias  Cornelius  and  wife,  at  Salem,  Mass.,  where  she  had 
been  deeply  interested  in  the  recital  of  Dr.  Wolffe's  labors 
in  Palestine,  she  wrote  a  poem  on  the  theme,  that  found  a 
place  in  the  columns  of  t^iie  Religious  Intelligencer.  Two 
hymns  were  taken  from  this  poem,  for  a  Collection  of 
"  Monthly  Concert  Hymns "  compiled  by  Leonard  Bacon, 
then  a  student  at  Andover  Theological  Seminary.  On  their 
removal  to  Bolton,  Mrs.  Hyde  found  there  the  Rev.  Asahel 
Nettleton  (the  eminent  revivalist),  just  recovering  from  a 


350  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

severe  attack  of  typhus  fever,  and  occupying  himself,  as 
strength  permitted,  in  the  compilation  of  "The  Village 
Hymns."  At  his  solicitation,  she  wrote  and  contributed, 
in  addition  to  the  two  just  referred  to  (Nos.  463, 470),  seven 
hymns,  Nos.  42,  303,  333,  335,  337,  449,  and  482. 
The  following  stanzas  are  from  her  poem  on  Palestine : 

"Israel !  'tis  thine  accepted  day, 
Thy  God  himseK  prepares  the  "way; 
Behold  his  ensign  from  afar, — 
Behold  the  light  of  Jacob's  Star ! 
That  Star,  which  once  on  Bethle'm  rose, 
A  token  on  thy  mountain  glows ; 
The  morn  of  earth's  best  jubilee 
Sheds  its  sweet  early  light  on  thee. 

"And  Thou,  who  once,  on  Israel's  ground, 
A  homeless  wanderer  wast  found. 
Redeemer !  on  thy  heavenly  throne, 
Still  call  that  ancient  church  thine  own: 
Bid  her  departed  light  return. 
Thy  holy  splendor  round  her  bum ; 
From  prostrate  Judah's  ruins  raise 
A  living  temple  to  thy  praise." 


THOMAS  JERVIS. 

1748-1833. 

Thomas  Jervis  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Jervis, 
a  Presbyterian  minister  settled  at  Ipswich,  England,  who 
died  there,  March  21, 1797,  in  his  seventy-third  year.  The 
son  was  born  in  1748,  and,  at  an  early  age,  was  sent  to  the 
school  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  David  Jennings,  in  London  ;  and,  at 
his  death  (1762),  to  his  successors,  Rev.  Drs.  Savage,  Kip- 
pis,  and  Rees.  At  the  age  of  twenty- two,  he  was  appointed 
Classical  and  Mathematical  Tutor  in  the  Academy  at  Exe- 
ter, Devonshire.     Shortly  after,  he  was  chosen  the  pastor 


THOMAS  JERYIS.  351 

of  the  Presbyterian  Chnrcli  at  Lympstone,  and  joint  min- 
ister of  Topsham.  Two  years  later  (1772),  having  been  ap- 
pointed Tutor  to  the  two  sons  of  the  Earl  of  Sherburne 
(afterwards  Marquis  of  Lansdowne),  he  became  a  resident 
at  Bowood  Park,  Wiltshire,  the  Earl's  country-seat.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Priestly,  also,  was  attached  to  the  household  as 
Librarian. 

On  the  removal  (1783)  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rees  to  the  Old 
Jewry,  London,  Mr.  Jervis  was  prevailed  upon  to  accept  a 
call,  as  his  successor,  to  the  pastorate  of  St.  Thomas' 
Presbyterian  Church,  London.  Twelve  years  later,  he 
succeeded  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kippis  (who  had  just  died)  bs  pas- 
tor of  the  Presb^i^erian  Church,  Prince's  Street,  near  West- 
minster Abbey,— a  position  of  considerable  prominence. 
In  1808,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  Mill  Hill  congrega- 
tion of  Leeds,  Yorkshire.  At  the  end  of  ten  years,  he  re- 
tired from  active  service,  to  his  wife's  home,  Fryerning, 
Ess*ex,  where  he  died,  in  1833.  He  had  married  Frances 
Mary,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Disney,  who  sur- 
vived him. 

Mr.  Jervis  was  an  Arian,  if  not  a  Socinian.  In  1811,  he 
published  a  volume  of  "  Sermons  on  Various  Subjects." 
In  1795,  he  united  with  the  Rev.  Drs.  Kippis  and  Rees, 
and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Morgan,  in  the  compilation  and  pub- 
lication of  "  A  Collection  of  Hymns  and  Psalms  for  Public 
and  Private  Worship,"  designed  for  Anti-Trinitarian  con- 
gregations. A  new  and  improved  edition  was  issued  in 
1797.  It  contained  690  hymns,  much  modified  in  many 
cases.  The  names  of  the  authors,  so  far  as  known,  are  at- 
tached to  the  hymns,  with  a  list  of  the  authors  prefixed  to 
the  Collection.  Sixteen  of  the  hymns  are  credited  to  Mr. 
Jervis,  and  in  none  of  them  is  there  even  the  most  distant 
allusion  to  the  Saviour.  They  are  thoroughly  Deistic.  The 
following  hjnnn  on  "  Gratitude  to  God  "  is  a  fair  specimen 
of  the  whole : 

"  Great  Source  of  all  that  we  enjoy, 
From  whom  our  comforts  flow ! 
To  thee,  who  dost  our  souls  reclaim, 
Eternal  thanks  we  owe. 


362  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Though  the  vast  debt  we  ne'er  can  pay 
Of  gratitude  and  love. 
Yet  grant  us,  Lord !  thine  aid  divine, 
Thy  goodness  to  improve. 

"  Be  this,  on  earth,  our  chief  delight, 
Our  feeble  songs  to  join ; 
In  heaven  we'll  celebrate  thy  praise 
In  anthems  more  divine." 


SAMUEL  JOHNSON. 

1822-1882. 

Samuel  JoHisrsoisr  was  a  native  and  resident  of  Salem, 
Mass.  He  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Samuel  and  Anna  D.  Johnson, 
and  was  bom,  October  10, 1822.  He  was  fitted  for  college  in 
the  private  schools  of  Salem,  entered  Harvard  College  in 
1838,  and  graduated,  A.B.,  in  1842.  He  studied  for  the 
ministry  in  the  Cambridge  Divinity  School,  and  finished 
his  theological  course  in  1846.  Among  his  classmates  were 
Octar^aus  B.  Frothingham  and  Samuel  Longfellow.  Mr. 
Johnson,  in  1853,  gathered  a  congregation  at  Lynn,  Mass., 
"  on  a  Free  Church  basis,"  indei3endent  of  all  existing  de- 
nominations. He  retired  from  this  connection,  in  1870,  and 
returned  to  his  native  place,  occupying  his  time  in  literary 
pursuits,  and  lecturing  and  preaching,  occasionally,  to  au- 
diences and  congregations  of  radical  sentiments.  He  died 
in  1882,  in  his  sixtieth  year. 

Mr.  Johnson  took  an  active  part  in  the  great  Social  and 
Religious  Discussions  of  his  day.  He  contributed  largely 
and  ably  to  The  Radical,  on  "  religious,  moral,  political, 
and  aesthetic "  themes  ;  and  wi'ote  a  number  of  essays  for 
the  "Free  Religious  Association,"  of  Boston.  He  pub- 
lished, in  1868,  "The  Worship  of  Jesus,  in  its  Past  and 
Present  Aspects";  and,  in  1872,  "Oriental  Religions,  and 
their  Relation  to  Universal  Religion.    India,"— the  first  of 


EDMUND  JONES.  353 

a  series  on  the  General  Topic.  Soon  after  completing  his 
theological  course,  he  and  his  classmate,  Samuel  Longfel- 
low, compiled  and  published  (1846)  "  A  Book  of  Hymns, 
for  Public  and  Private  Devotion";  also,  in  1864,  a  volume 
called  "Hymns  of  the  Spirit."  Several  of  his  own  hymns 
are  found  in  these  Collections.  From  the  latter  volume  are 
taken  the  following  stanzas,  from  a  hymn  on  "  The  Conflict 
of  Life": 

"  Onward!  onward!  though  the  region 
Where  thou  art  be  drear  and  lone ; 
God  hath  set  a  guardian  legion 
Very  near  thee ; — press  thou  on ! 

"Upward!  upward!    Their  hosanna 
Eolleth  o'er  thee, — '  God  is  love ' ! 
All  around  thy  red-cross  banner 
Streams  the  radiance  from  above, 

"  By  the  thorn  road,  and  none  other, 
Is  the  mount  of  vision  won ; 
Tread  it  without  shinnking,  brother  I 
Jesus  trod  it ; — press  thou  on  I " 


EDMUND  JONES. 
1722-1765. 

Edmund  Jones  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Philip  Jones,  of 
Cheltenham,  Gloucestershire,  where  he  was  born,  in  1722. 
Much  of  the  boyhood  of  Edmund  was  spent  at  Upton-on- 
Severn,  Worcestershire,  where  his  father  had  become  the 
pastor  of  a  Baptist  church. 

He  made  an  early  profession  of  religion  at  Upton,  and 
was  sent  to  the  Baptist  College  at  Bristol,  then  under  the 
care  of  the  Rev.  Bernard  Foskett,  of  Broadmead.  When 
only  in  his  twentieth  year  (1741),  he  was  invited  to  supply 
the  Baptist  Church  of  Exeter,  Devonshire,  and,  in  1743,  was 
23 


354  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ordained  their  pastor.  In  common  with  many  of  the  Baptist 
churches  of  that  period,  the  Church  of  Exeter  had  till  then 
0])posed  the  introduction  of  "the  service  of  song"  into 
public  worship.  Mr.  Jones  effected  a  revolution  in  this 
respect.  His  hymn,  and  the  only  one  extant,  so  far  as 
known,  from  his  pen, 

"  Come,  hximble  sinner!  in  whose  breast,"  etc., 

was  probably  one  of  several  that  he  then  introduced  into 
his  own  church.  It  was  included  in  Dr.  Rippon's  Selec- 
tion (1787)  with  the  author's  name. 

Dr.  Belcher  and  Mr.  Miller  erroneously  refer  the  hymn 
to  Rev.  Edmund  Jones,  of  Trevecca,  Wales, — a  very  differ- 
ent man.  Parkinson  (in  a  marginal  note  connected  with 
this  hymn,  in  his  Selection,  New  York,  1817)  says  cor- 
rectly :  "  Mr.  Jones  was  a  truly  worthy  pastor  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church  at  Exeter,  Devon:  he  departed  this  life  on 
April  15,  1765,  aged  43." 


THOMAS  JAMES  JUDKIN. 

1788-1871. 

Mr.  JuDKiisr  was,  for  more  than  forty  years,  a  highly  pop- 
ular and  very  useful  clergyman  in  London,  England,  the 
place  of  his  nativity.  His  father  was  a  respectable  trades- 
man, in  comfortable  circumstances,  who  did  business  in 
Bishopsgate  Street.  Sir  William  Curtis,  an  eccentric  al- 
derman of  considerable  notoriety,  took  a  fancy  to  the  boy 
and  showed  him  much  kindness.  He  went  so  far  as  to  be 
at  charges  for  his  education,  sending  him  to  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  where  he  provided  amply  for  him.  JudMn 
entered  Caius  College  in  1811 ;  and  graduated,  A.B. ,  in  1815, 
and  A.M.,  in  1818. 

Having  served  several  years  in  subordinate  positions  as  a 


THOMAS  JAMES  JUDKIN.  355 

curate,  Mr.  Judkin  was,  in  1828,  apioointed  to  the  Perpetual 
Curacy  of  Somers  Town,  St.  Pancras  Parish,  London,  and 
very  soon  took  a  high  rank,  as  a  popular  evangelical 
preacher,  and  a  laborious,  faithful,  and  successful  pastor. 
Here  an  overflowing  congregation  gathered  about  him, 
among  whom  he  had  many  ardent  admii-ers.  He  accus- 
tomed himself  to  frequent  services,  ordinarily  preaching 
thrice  on  the  Sabbath,  and  once  during  the  week,  besides 
meeting  the  children  of  his  charge  twice  a  week  for  the 
practice  of  sacred  music.  He  had  great  skill  both  in  paint- 
ing and  music— being  passionately  fond  of  them  both,  and 
of  the  kindi'ed  art,  poetry. 

Shortly  after  his  induction,  he  published  (1831)  a  volume 
of  "Church  and  Home  Psalmody,"  containing  about  200 
Hymns  and  100  Psalms,  of  his  own  comxDOsition.  It  was 
adopted  by  his  congregation  for  the  services  of  public  wor- 
ship. Three  years  later  (1834),  he  put  forth  an  enlarged 
edition,  containing  nearly  600  original  Psalms  and  Hymns, 
with  the  title, — ''  Church  and  Home  Melodies  ;  being  a  New 
Version  of  the  more  devotional  parts  of  the  Psalms ;  to- 
gether with  a  Version  of  the  Collects,  and  Original  Hymns ; 
for  Congregational  and  Domestic  Purposes. "  None  of  them 
exceed  four  stanzas.  Repeated  editions,  with  enlargements, 
followed.  He  published,  also,  in  1856,  "  By-gone  Moods  ; 
or  Hues  of  Fancy  and  Feeling,  from  the  Spring  to  the  Au- 
tumn of  Life";  containing  about  270  original  Sonnets,  Avrit- 
ten  at  various  periods  of  his  life.  He  died  in  1871,  having 
reached  his  eighty-third  year. 

The  following  Advent  Hymn  is  the  165th  of  his  Collec- 
tion : 

"  There's  music  in  the  heaven  amid  the  stilkiess  of  the  night, 
While  shepherds  are  abiding  yet,  to  watch  their  fleecy  care; 
The  clouds  are  rolhng  rapidly,  and,  in  the  bui'sting  light, 
To  golden  harps  are  caroling  the  angels  bright  and  fair. 

"  Oh !  listen  to  the  choral  song  which  hails  a  Saviour's  birth, 

That  fills  those  humble  watchers'  hearts  with  wonder  and  with  love ; 
'  Good  tidings  of  great  joyfulness  to  all  who  dwell  on  earth, 
And  glory  in  the  highest  be  to  God  enthroned  above ! ' 


356  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

*'  The  world,  tliat  had  been  travailing  so  long  in  pain  and  woe, 

Hath  heard,  amidst  its  guilty  fears,  a  voice  which  soothes  to  rest ; 
And  God  the  Father's  gracious  face,  with  cloud  obscured  till  now, 
Sliines  through  the  image  of  his  Son,  the  blessing  and  the  blessed. 

"  With  the  music  of  the  angels  be  the  music  of  my  heart, 

And  let  the  shepherd's  gratitude  my  every  power  inflame ; 
And  with  the  anthems  of  the  Church,  my  soul !  bear  thou  thy  part, 
For  all  thy  mercies  shown  to  thee  in  Christ's  redeeming  name." 


SARAH  [HALL]  BOARDMAN  JUDSON. 
1803-1845. 

Mrs.  Jtjdson  was  the  eldest  child  of  Ralph  and  Abiah 
Hall,  of  Alstead,  New  Hampshire,  where  she  was  born,  No- 
vember 4,  1803.  Her  parents  were  in  humble  circum- 
stances, and  subsequently  removed  to  Dan  vers,  Mass.,  and 
thence  to  Salem,  Mass.  They  had  many  children,  and 
much  domestic  care  was  consequently  devolved  on  Sarah. 
Yet  she  found  time  for  mental  improvement,  and  obtained 
an  education  much  beyond  her  station.  Both  in  prose  and 
poetry,  she  took  frequent  opportunity  of  exercising  her 
power  of  literary  comj)osition,  and  excelled  in  both.  In 
her  seventeenth  year,  she  became  a  member  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Salem,  Mass.,  and  entered  upon  a  career 
of  exemplary  piety,  and  Christian  activity,  as  a  Sunday- 
School  Teacher  and  Tract  Distributor. 

She  was  married,  July  4, 1825,  to  the  Rev.  George  Dana 
Boardman,  of  Livermore,  Me.,  and  embarked  with  him,  on 
the  16th  of  the  same  month,  at  Philadelphia,  for  Calcutta, 
on  their  way  to  Burmah  as  missionaries.  On  account  of 
the  Burmese  war,  they  were  compelled  to  remain  at  Cal- 
cutta nearly  eighteen  months.  Mrs.  Boardman  was  re- 
garded by  the  English  residents,  "  as  the  most  finished  and 
faultless  specimen  of  an  American  woman  that  they  had 


JOHN  KEBLE.  357 

ever  known."  She  was  of  medium  stature,  and  had  a  fine 
foiTu,  a  soft  blue  eye,  and  a  lovely  face. 

They  resided  successively,  after  their  arrival  (April,  1827) 
in  Burmah,  at  Amherst,  Maulmain,  and  Tavoy.  Three  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  of  whom  tlie  second  only  (George 
Dana)  survived  the  perils  of  infancy.  Mr.  Boardman  him- 
self became  a  victim  to  the  climate,  and  died,  February  11, 
1831.  She  remained  at  her  post,  continuing  her  missionary 
work  at  Tavoy. 

In  April,  1834,  she  became  the  second  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Adoniram  Judson,  D.D.  She  now  entered  on  a  career  of 
eminent  usefulness  as  the  fitting  companion  of  her  distin- 
guished husband ;  aiding  him  in  his  translations  of  the 
Scriptures,  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  religious  tracts,  and  de- 
votional poetry.  She  prepared  a  hymn-book,  and  several 
volumes  of  Scripture  Questions  for  Sunday-Schools,  and  a 
series  of  Sunday  Cards.  Eight  children  were  the  fruit  of 
her  second  marriage.  Early  in  1845  she  began  to  exhibit 
symptoms  of  alarming  disorder,  and  Dr.  Judson  embarked 
with  her  and  some  of  their  childi-en  for  the  United  States. 
On  the  way,  her  health  declined  rapidly,  and  she  breathed 
her  last  at  the  island  of  St.  Helena,  September  1, 1845. 


JOHN  KEBLE. 

1792-1866. 

The  Rev.  John-  Keble,  the  well-known  author  of  "  The 
Christian  Year,"  was  the  second  child  and  elder  son  of  the 
Rev.  John  Keble,  Vicar  (1782-1834)  of  Coin  St.  Aldwyn's, 
Gloucestershire,  England,  where  he  resided  on  his  own  es- 
tate, and  where  the  son  was  born,  April  25,  1792.  Having 
been  thoroughly  prepared  under  his  father's  instruction, 
the  boy  entered  Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford,  on  a  Schol- 
arship, 1806,  and  graduated  (double  first  class),  B.A.,  1810, 


358  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

and  M.A.,  1813.  He  was  chosen,  April,  1811,  Probation 
Fellow  of  Oriel  College.  In  1812,  he  took  the  Chancellor's 
prize  for  an  English  Essay,  on  "  Translation  from  the  Dead 
Languages  ";  also,  the  prize  for  a  Latin  Essay,  on  "  A  Com- 
parison of  Xenophon  and  Julius  Caesar  as  Military  Histo- 
rians" of  their  own  "campaigns."  He  was  ai^pointed,  in 
1814,  Examining  Master  for  three  years. 

He  was  ordained,  by  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  a  deacon.  Trin- 
ity Sunday,  1815,  and  priest.  Trinity  Sunday,  1816.  At  his 
first  ordination  he  entered  on  the  Curacy  of  East  Leach  and 
Burthor[3e,  two  hamlets  near  Fairf ord.  At  the  end  of  three 
years  he  accepted  (1818)  a  Tutorship  in  Oriel  College,  and 
continued  there  five  years  ;  when,  his  mother  having  died, 
he  returned  to  his  Curacy  that  had  been  temporarily  served 
by  his  brother,  Thomas,  and  to  which  the  hamlet  of  South- 
rop  was  now  annexed.  The  newly-appointed  Bishop  of 
Barbados,  William  Hart  Coleridge,  offered  him,  in  1824, 
an  Archdeaconship,  with  a  salary  of  £2,000,  but  family  rea- 
sons constrained  him  to  decline  the  offer.  The  following 
year,  at  the  instance  of  Sir  William  Heathcote,  one  of  his 
pupils,  he  was  appointed  the  Curate  of  Hursley,  near  Win- 
chester, Hampshire.  The  sudden  death  of  a  dearly-beloved 
sister,  in  September,  1826,  brought  him  back  to  Fairford, 
and  he  became  his  father's  Curate. 

For  many  years,  he  had  been  at  work  on  "  The  Christian 
Year."  Some  of  the  lyiics  had  obtained  circulation,  in 
manuscript,  among  his  personal  friends.  The  work  had 
been  subjected  to  the  criticisms  of  the  R«v.  Drs.  Whately 
and  Arnold,  among  others,  and  had  undergone  frequent 
revision  and  polishing.  He,  at  first,  intended  to  continue 
this  process  through  life ;  but,  at  the  urgent  solicitations 
of  friends,  he  arranged  the  hymns  in  the  order  of  the  Fes- 
tivals and  Fasts,  or  Holy  Seasons,  of  the  Church,  and  pub- 
lished the  book  anonymously,  in  1827,  with  the  title,— "  The 
Christian  Year :  Thoughts  in  Verse  for  the  Sundays  and 
Holydays  throughout  the  Year." 

To  the  liturgy-loving  people  of  the  Church  of  England, 
the  work  was  a  benison  of  peculiar  value.     It  met  with  a 


JOHN  KEBLE.  359 

rapid  sale.  Edition  after  edition  followed  in  quick  succes- 
sion. It  became  a  household  book  of  sacred  verse,  and  took 
its  place  by  the  side  of  "The  Book  of  Common  Prayer." 
Editions  were  multiplied  also  in  America.  In  the  line  of 
sacred  lyrics  from  the  pen  of  a  single  author,  it  has  been 
the  greatest  success  of  the  century.  Keble  lived  to  revise 
for  the  press  the  ninety-sixth  British  edition.  It  is  still 
among  the  most  saleable  books  of  the  kind — having  never 
been  superseded. 

His  election  as  Professor  of  Poetry  in  Oxford  University 
followed  in  1831,  as  a  matter  of  course.  By  appointment 
of  the  Vice- Chancellor,  he  delivered,  July  14,  1833,  the 
Summer  Assize  Sermon,  which  was  published  with  the 
title, — "National  Apostasy."  It  was  a  vigorous  protest 
against  the  Supjjression  of  the  Irish  Sees.  "  I  have  ever 
considered  and  kept  the  day,"  says  John  Henry  New- 
man, "as  the  start  of  the  religious  Movement  of  1833." 
Newman  regarded  Keble  as  "  the  true  and  primary  author 
of  that  Movement  afterwards  called  Tractarian."  Early  in 
the  autumn  of  1833,  he  held  frequent  conferences,  at  Oriel 
College,  with  Newman,  Froude,  and  Percival,  in  respect  to 
measures  for  reviving  the  ecclesiastical  spirit  of  the  Church. 
An  Association  was  formed,  an  Address  issued,  and  the 
publication  of  a  series  of  cheap  and  popular  Tracts — after- 
wards widely  known  as  "Tracts  for  the  Times" — under- 
taken. Of  these  Tracts,  Keble  wrote  Nos.  4,  13,  40,  52,  54, 
57,  60,  89.  To  the  new  "  Movement,"  he  gave,  as  an  origi- 
nator and  leader,  the  whole  weight  of  his  character  and  in- 
fluence. 

On  the  death  of  his  father,  January  24, 1835,  he  succeeded 
to  the  Vicarage  ;  and,  October  10,  at  Bisley,  near  Fairford, 
he  married  Charlotte,  the  youngest  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
George  Clarke,  deceased, — the  sister  of  his  brother's  wife. 
This  living  was  exchanged,  March,  1836,  for  the  Vicarage  of 
Hursley,  Hampshire,  to  which  he  was  presented  by  Sir 
William  Heathcote.  His  Visitation  Sermon,  the  next 
autumn,  in  the  Cathedral  at  Winchester,  excited  a  great 
commotion  among  the  clergy  present.     Many  of  them  re- 


360  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

garded  Mm  as  "almost  a  Papist."  The  sermon  was  pub- 
lished with  the  title, — "  Primitive  Tradition  recognized  in 
Holy  Scripture,"  A  reply  was  issued  by  the  Rev.  Dr 
William  Wilson,  and  the  positions  of  the  Sermon  were 
successfully  as  well  as  elaborately  controverted  by  the  Rev. 
William  Goode,  in  his  "  Divine  Rule  of  Faith  and  Prac- 
tice." The  same  year,  Keble  published  a  new  edition  of 
Hooker's  works,  mth  a  labored  "  Preface,"  in  favor  of  the 
controverted  doctrines  and  usages.  At  the  close  of  the 
year,  the  "  LjT.'a  Apostolica  "  was  reprinted  from  the  Brit- 
ish Magazine,  Keble  having  been  one  of  the  seven  con- 
tributors. The  following  year  (1838),  he  united  with  Drs. 
Newman  and  Pusey  in  editing  the  "  Library  of  the  Fathers." 

His  next  important  production  was  "  The  Psalter,  or 
Psalms  of  David ;  in  English  Verse," — a  new  version,  on 
which  he  had  been  at  work,  for  years,  with  the  hope  of 
supplanting  both  "The  Old"  and  "The  JS'ew  Versions." 
It  proved  a  complete  failure.  His  Professorship  terminated 
in  1841 ;  and,  three  years  later,  he  published  his  "  Praelec- 
tiones  Academical,"  in  two  volumes.  His  "  Lyra  Innocen- 
tium  "  followed  in  1846  ;  "  Sermons,  Academical  and  Occa- 
sional," in  1847  ;  "  A  Very  Few  Plain  Thoughts  on  the  pro- 
posed addition  of  Dissenters  to  the  University  of  Oxford," 
in  1854 ;  two  pamphlets  on  "  the  Eucharist,"  in  1857  and 
1858 ;  and  "The  Life  of  Thomas  Wilson,  D.D.,  Lord  Bishop 
of  Sodor  and  Man,"  in  1863.  He  contributed,  in  early  life, 
an  admirable  article  on  "  Sacred  Poetry,"  to  the  32d  volume 
of  the  London  Quarterly  Remew. 

He  yielded  at  length  to  disease,  being  smitten  with  par- 
alysis, November  30,  1864.  He  survived  until  March  29, 
1866,  when  he  died  at  Bournemouth,  in  his  seventy-fourth 
year.  Mrs.  Keble,  who  had  been  a  great  sufferer  from  her 
youth,  followed  him  to  the  world  of  spirits,  on  the  11th  of 
the  next  May. 

The  following  Seed  Time  Hymn  was  contributed  (1857) 
to  the  "  Salisbury  Hymnal ": 

"  Lord!  in  thy  name  thy  servants  plead, 
And  thou  hast  sworn  to  hear; 


GEORGE  KEITH.  361 

Thine  is  the  harvest,  thine  the  seed, 
The  fresh  and  fading  year. 

**  Our  hope,  when  autumn  winds  blew  wild, 
We  trusted,  Lord !  with  thee ; 
And,  now  that  spring  has  on  us  smiled, 
We  wait  on  thy  decree. 

"  The  former  and  the  latter  rain, 
The  simimer  sun  and  au", 
The  green  ear,  and  the  golden  grain, 
All  thine,  are  ours  by  prayer. 

"  Thine  too  by  right,  and  ours  by  grace, 
The  wondrous  growth  unseen, 
The  hopes  that  soothe,  the  fears  that  brace. 
The  love  that  shines  serene. 

"  So  grant  the  precious  things  brought  forth 
By  sun  and  moon  below, 
That  thee,  in  thy  new  heaven  and  earth. 
We  never  may  forego." 


GEORGE  KEITH. 

The  very  familiar  and  popular  liyinii,  beginning 

"  How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord ! " 

with  two  others  from  the  same  hand,  was  contributed  (1787) 
to  "  A  Selection  of  Hymns  from  the  Best  Authors,"  com- 
piled by  John  Rippon,  D.D.  The  authorship  was  desig- 
nated simply  by  "  K ,"  In  later  editions  of  the  "  Selec- 
tion," published  after  Dr.  Rippon's  decease,  this  hymn  is 
attributed  to  "Kirkham."  A  Collection  of  hymns  by 
Thomas  Kirkham  was  published  in  1788,  but  this  hymn  is 
not  among  them.  It  has  been  conjectured,  but  not  ascer- 
tained, that  this  hymn,  and  the  two  others  thus  designated, 
were  written  by  Mr.  George  Keith,  for  many  years  a  pub- 
lisher and  bookseller  in  Gracechurch  Street,  London,  who 


362  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

married  a  daughter  of  tlie  Rev.  Dr.  Rippon,  and  oflBciated 

as  clerk  in  his  place  of  worship.     It  is  reported,  that  he 

was  accustomed  occasionally  to  compose  hymns  suggested 

by  Dr.  Rippon's  sermons.     The  other  two  hymns  begin 

with, 

"  In  songs  of  sublime  adoration  and  praise," 

and 

"  The  Bible  is  justly  esteemed," — 

both  first  published  in  Dr.  Rippon's  Selection. 


THOMAS  KELLY. 

1769-1855. 

Mr.  Kelly  was  the  only  son  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  Chief 
Baron  Kelly,  one  of  the  Royal  Judges.  He  was  born,  July 
13,  1769,  at  Kellyville,  near  Athy,  Queens  County,  Ireland. 
His  youth  was  passed  in  the  midst  of  affluence,  and  he  was 
favored  with  the  very  best  advantages  of  social  and  intel- 
lectual training.  He  pursued  a  preparatory  course  of 
education  at  the  schools  of  Port  Arlington  and  Kilkenny. 
He  completed  his  education  at  the  University  of  Dublin, 
graduating  with  distinction. 

He  now  entered,  as  a  student  of  law,  at  the  Temple,  Lon- 
don, and  was  a  welcome  visitor  at  Edmund  Burke's.  He 
had,  from  an  early  age,  been  seriously  inclined,  and,  but 
for  his  father's  wishes,  would  have  sought  the  ministry. 
The  perusal  of  one  of  the  excellent  works  of  the  evangeli- 
cal Romaine  led  him  to  consider  his  ways,  and  to  be  a 
Christian  indeed.  He  renounced  the  world,  relinquished 
the  law,  and  consecrated  himself  to  the  service  of  his 
Master.  He  took  orders  early  in  1792,  with  three  others 
of  his  Universitj'"  associates  of  similar  views,  —  John 
Walker,  Henry  Maturin,  and  Walter  Shirley  (a  son  of  the 
Hon.  and  Rev.  Walter  Shirley),  all  of  whom  became  useful 


THOMAS  KELLY.  363 

ministers  of  the  Gospel.  Mr.  Kelly's  change  was  a  great 
disappointment  and  mortification  to  his  parents  and  kin- 
dred. Evangelical  religion  had  but  few  followers  and 
advocates,  at  that  time,  among  the  gentry  and  aristocracy 
of  Ireland. 

French  infidelity  had  cast  its  blight  over  the  land.  The 
heart-searching  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  were  seldom  pro- 
claimed from  the  pulpits  of  the  Established  Church.  Kelly 
and  his  three  young  brethren  began  their  ministry  in  Dub- 
lin, but  were  regarded  by  the  clergy  with  suspicion.  They 
obtained  the  Sunday  afternoon  service  at  St.  Luke's,  and 
their  preaching  drew  a  crowd,  to  the  displeasure  of  the  rec- 
tor, who  soon  stopped  it.  They  were  permitted  to  conduct 
the  Sunday  morning  service  at  Irishtown  ;  but  Dr.  Fowler, 
the  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  closed  the  pulpits  of  his  diocese 
against  them.  They  now  betook  themselves  to  Lady  Hunt- 
ingdon's Chapels,  Plunket  Street,  and  Bethesda,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Rutland  and  Mountjoy  Squares.  Alderman 
Hutton,  also,  opened  his  house,  Luson  Street,  near  St. 
Stephen's  Green,  for  Friday  evening  worship,  and  Mr. 
Kelly  took  charge  of  the  service.  He  preached,  also, 
at  Blackrock.  Such  was  his  entrance  on  a  ministerial 
career,  of  great  labor  and  service,  protracted  to  extreme 
old  age. 

He  married,  in  1800,  Miss  Tighe,  of  Rosanna,  County 
Wicklow,  whose  mother  was  the  only  child  of  Sir  William 
and  Lady  Betty  Fownes,  and  inherited  their  large  fortune 
and  estates.  At  his  father's  death,  Mr.  Kelly,  also,  came 
into  possession  of  ample  wealth.  But  all  his  possessions 
he  held  in  trust  for  his  divine  Redeemer.  He  erected  a 
chapel  at  Blackrock ;  another  at  Athy,  the  place  of  his 
family  residence ;  another  at  Port  Arlington ;  another  at 
Wexford  ;  and  another  at  Waterford.  These  chapels  were 
supplied  by  godly  ministers  sent  by  the  Haldanes  of  Scot- 
land. Disowned  by  the  rulers  of  the  Established  Church, 
he  pursued  his  work  independently;  and,  eventually, 
through  conviction,  became  an  avowed  Dissenter.  His 
chapels  and  preachers  were  classified  as  of  "The  Rev. 


364  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Thomas  Kelly's  Connection."  His  winters  were  spent  at 
Dublin,  and  his  summers  at  Athy,  in  both  places  as  a  pas- 
tor. But  his  labors  were  widely  extended.  He  delighted 
in  the  work,  and  embraced  frequent  opportunities  to  preach 
the  Gospel  in  all  the  surrounding  region. 

He  took  a  most  lively  interest  in  the  spread  of  the  Gos- 
pel abroad,  as  well  as  at  home,  especially  in  the  work  of 
the  London  Missionary  Society.  He  was  a  most  diligent 
and  laborious  servant  of  Christ.  His  varied  and  extensive 
learning  was  employed  without  pedantry,  and  with  unaf- 
fected humility,  in  the  advancement  of  his  Master's  cause. 
His  preaching  was  thoroughly  evangelical,  and  was  char- 
acterized "by  surprising  variety,  depth,  and  richness  of 
thought,  accompanied  by  the  unction  of  genuine  piety." 

He  was  a  poet  and  musician,  as  well  as  a  theologian.  He 
wrote  hymns,  and  composed  the  music  for  their  proper  ex- 
pression. He  published  (1804)  a  volume  of  96  original 
"Hymns  on  Various  Passages  of  Scripture."  His  third 
edition  (1809)  contained  304  hymns ;  the  lifth  (1820),  433 
hymns ;  the  sixth  (1839),  503  hymns ;  and  the  seventh 
(1853),  765  hymns— all  original.  The  hymns  and  tunes 
composed  for  them  were,  also,  published  together,  as 
"  Kelly's  Hymns  set  to  Music  by  the  Author." 

He  published  but  little  else.  His  "  Andrew  Dunn  "  was 
written  for  the  "  Religious  Tract  Society,"  and  is  an  admi- 
rable specimen  of  controversy  against  Romanism.  He 
wrote  for  a  Dublin  periodical  a  short  series  of  articles,  con- 
taining incidents  in  his  early  life,  and  entitled,  "  Reminis- 
cences of  the  Church."  He  issued  in  pamphlet  form  a  few 
"  Tlioughts  on  Imputed  Righteousness,"  and  three  other 
pamphlets,  at  various  times,  in  reply  to  Canon  Stowell, 
Archbishop  Whately,  and  another  clerical  writer. 

He  continued  in  the  exercise  of  his  ministry  until  Octo- 
ber, 1854,  when,  while  preaching  to  his  people  in  Dublin, 
he  had  a  slight  stroke  of  paralysis,  from  which  he  recov- 
ered, though  with  an  evident  loss  of  vigor.  In  the  follow- 
ing spring,  an  alarming  illness  supervened,  which  he  bore 
Avith  great  meelvuess  and  resignation.  He  died,  May  14, 
1855,  in  his  eighty-sixth  year. 


EICHAED  KEMPENFELT.  365 

The  following  stanzas  are  from  a  hymn  suggested  by 
Gal.  vi.  14: 

'•  Groiind  of  my  hope,  the  ci-oss  appears ! 
I  see  the  '  man  of  sorrows '  bleed ; 
I  bid  adieu  to  guilty  fears, 
And  in  his  death  my  pardon  read. 

"And  couldst  thou,  O  my  Saviour!  die 
To  rescue  me  from  endless  woe? 
Enough :  there's  none  more  blessed  than  I,  • 

Since  thou  couldst  love  a  sinner  so. 

"I  leave  the  world — its  boasted  store 
Of  pleasures  that  must  quickly  end ; 
I  pi'ize  its  vanities  no  more, 
Since  I  have  found  the  sinner's  Friend." 


RICHARD  KEMPENFELT. 

1718-1782. 

The  beantiful  lyric,  written  by  Richard  Kempenfelt  in 

1777, 

"  Burst,  ye  emerald  gates!  and  bring,"  etc., 

seems  to  have  been  a  premonition  and  a  prophecy  of  the 
blissful  translation  of  its  author  to  the  better  land.  Cow- 
per  tells  the  tale  in  his  memorable  "  Dirge  for  the  Royal 
Oeorge  "; 

"  Toll  for  the  brave ! — the  brave  that  are  no  more ! 
All  sunk  beneath  the  wave,  fast  by  their  native  shore ! 
Eight  hundred  of  the  brave,  whose  courage  well  was  tried. 
Had  made  the  vessel  keel,  and  laid  her  on  her  side ; 
A  land  bi-eeze  shook  the  shrouds,  and  she  was  overset ; 
Down  went  the  Royal  George,  with  all  her  crew  complete ! 

*'  Toll  for  the  brave !  brave  Kempenfelt  is  gone ! 
His  last  sea-fight  is  fought,  his  work  of  glory  done : 


366  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

It  was  not  in  the  battle ;  no  tempest  gave  the  shock ; 

She  sprang  no  fatal  leak,  she  ran  upon  no  I'ock; 

His  sword  was  in  his  sheath,  his  fingers  held  the  pen 

When  Kempenfelt  went  down  with  twice  four  hundred  menl 

' '  Weigh  the  vessel  up,  once  dreaded  by  our  foes, 
And  mingle  Avith  our  cup  the  tear  that  England  owes ; 
Her  timbers  yet  are  sound,  and  she  may  float  again. 
Full  charged  with  England's  thunder,  and  plough  the  distant  main : 
But  Kempenfelt  is  gone,  his  victories  are  o'er, 
,   And  he  and  his  eight  hundred  men  shall  plough  the  wave  no  more ! " 

After  varied  service,  the  Royal  George^  in  March,  1782, 
sailed  for  Brest  to  keep  watch  of  the  enemy,  returning  to 
Spithead,  Portsmouth,  the  next  August.  Kempenfelt  was 
the  second  in  command.  The  vessel  had  sprung  a  leak  and 
was  otherwise  foul.  In  order  to  inspection,  she  was  ca- 
reened on  the  29th  of  August.  The  crew  and  some  hun- 
dreds of  their  wives  and  children  were  on  board.  Kempen- 
felt was  at  work  with  his  pen  in  the  cabin.  A  land-squall 
struck  the  great  hulk ;  she  fell  completely  over ;  the  sea 
rushed  in  at  the  open  ports  ;  she  filled  and  sunk.  The  res- 
cued numbered  about  three  hundred;  the  lost — among  them 
Kempenfelt — about  eight  hundred.  The  land  was  filled 
with  mourning. 

Admiral  Kempenfelt  was  the  son  of  a  Swede  (the  original 
of  the  "  Captain  Sentry "  of  The  Spectator),  who  entered 
the  British  Service,  and  died  in  the  time  of  George  I. ,  leav- 
ing two  sons  and  two  daughters.  Richard  was  born  in 
October,  1718.  He  obtained,  January  14, 1741,  a  Lieuten- 
ant's Commission  in  the  British  Navy ;  was  made  Master 
and  Commander,  in  1756  ;  and  was  promoted,  January  17, 
1757,  to  a  Captaincy.  In  the  bloody  battles  of  the  East 
India  Seas  (1758-1759),  he  distinguished  himself  as  the 
Captain  of  the  flagship  of  Admiral  Stevens.  He  took  an 
active  part,  also  (1762),  in  the  capture  of  Manilla  by  Sir 
William  Draper ;  was  made  Governor  of  Porte  Cavite,  and 
then  sent  home  as  bearer  of  dispatches.  In  1779-1780,  he 
held  the  position  of  Admiral's  Captain  of  the  Grand  Fleet. 
Promoted  to  an  Admiral's  post,  he  was  (December,  1780) 


EICHAED  KEMPENFELT.  367 

put  in  command  of  twelve  sail  of  the  line,  with  which  he 
cut  off  twelve  sail  of  French  ships,  escorted  by  twenty-two 
sail  of  the  line — winning  a  signal  victory. 

He  was  not  less  a  Christian  than  a  saiJor.  As  an  humble 
and  devout  soldier  of  the  cross  he  was  knowTi  and  honored 
in  the  Royal  Navy.  He  was  an  admirer  of  Whitefield  and 
the  Wesleys.  One  of  his  hjnnns  celebrates  a  field-preach- 
ing occasion  in  Cornwall,  when  fifteen  thousand  were 
thought  to  be  present  (September  14, 1766).  His  hjTuns, 
nine  in  number,  were  written  mostly  in  early  life.  They 
appeared  in  a  small  tract, — as  "  Original  Hymns  and  Poems. 
By  Philotheorus.  Exeter:  1777";  dedicated,  as  juvenile 
efforts,  "  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fletcher,  Vicar  of  Madeley,  in 
Shropshire."  Possibly  Fletcher  may  have  been  his  spirit- 
ual father.  This  tractate  has  been  reprinted,  with  a  brief 
Preface,  by  Mr.  Daniel  Sedgwick,  of  London. 

The  following  stanzas  are  from  the  hymn  alluded  to  in 
the  preceding  paragraph,  and  exhibit  no  little  poetic  skill 
and  taste : 

"  See  how  the  colored  vestments  mingliiig  please, 
And  form  a  garland  beautiful  and  gay ; 
Which  twice  ten  thousand  eyes  survey  at  ease, 
Each  one  conspiring  in  the  august  display. 

"  The  flame  of  prayer  kindles  through  the  throng, 
And  ardent  praises  stream  for  sins  forgiven ; 
Hark !  now  they  all  united  raise  the  song, 
In  peals  of  sacred  melody  to  heaven. 

"  The  female  notes  ascend  the  echoing  vale, 
Shi'ill  as  the  matin  carols  of  the  thrush, 
Or  modulating  as  the  nightingale, 
When  the  loud  clamor  of  the  day  is  hushed. 

"  Steal,  ye  soft  notes !  to  every  sinner's  soul, 
Harmoniously  allure  the  ruffian  crowd. 
Soften  the  rude  ideas  as  ye  roll. 
And  pierce  the  adamantine  of  the  proud." 


368  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

JOHN  KEMPTHORNE. 

1775-1838. 

The  Rev.  John  Kempthoris^e  was  a  native  of  Plymouth, 
England,  and  was  born,  June  24, 1775.  He  was  the  son  of 
James  Kempthome,  who,  on  the  first  day  of  the  present 
century,  was  created  an  Admiral  of  the  British  Navy.  He 
was  liberally  educated,  entering  St.  John's  College,  Cam- 
bridge, in  1792,  and  graduating,  A.B.,  in  1796,  and  A.M., 
in  1799.  He  was,  also,  chosen  a  Fellow  of  St.  John's,  and, 
in  1807,  took  the  degree  of  B.D.  He  served,  several  years 
prior  to  1816,  as  Curate  of  Claybrook,  Leicestershire. 

His  first  preferment  was,  in  1816,  to  the  Vicarage  of 
Northleach,  Gloucestershire  ;  to  which  were  added :  in 
1819,  the  Vicarage  of  Preston,  Gloucestershire ;  in  1827, 
the  Vicarage  of  Wedmore,  Somersetshire ;  and,  the  same 
year,  the  Rectory  of  St.  Michael's  with  the  Chaplaincy  of 
St.  Mary  de  Grace,  Gloucester.  He  was  made,  in  1826,  a 
Prebendary  of  Lichfield.  He  occupied,  also,  for  many 
years  the  position  of  Examining  Chaplain  to  the  Lord 
Bishop  of  Lichfield  and  Coventry. 

He  published,  in  1816, "  The  Pastor's  Parting  Appeal,  Ex- 
hortations, and  Benedictions :  a  Farewell  Sermon,  preached 
in  the  Parish  Church  of  Claybrook,  Leicestershire,  on  Sun- 
day, June  16,  1816";  and,  in  1835,  "The  Church's  SeK- 
Regulating  Privilege,  a  National  Safeguard  in  Respect  to 
real  Church-Reform ;  or,  Reasons  for  reviving  Convoca- 
tions, or  restoring  Provincial  and  Diocesan  Synods." 

Li  1809,  he  published  a  volume  of  "  Hymns  for  the  Found- 
ling Hospital";  and,  in  1810,  Select  Portions  of  Psalms, 
from  various  Translations  and  Paraphrases  ;  and  "  Hymns, 
from  various  Authors :  many  of  them  considerably  Altered, 
in  order  to  fit  them  for  the  Use  of  Congregations  in  the 
Church  of  England ;  and  the  Whole  arranged  according 
to  her  Yearly  Seasons."  The  fifth  edition  was  published 
in  1829.    It  was  dedicated  "  to  the  Hon.  and  Right  Rev- 


THOMAS  KEN.  369 

erend  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Lichfield  and  Coventry."  It 
contains  299  Psalms  and  Hymns  intermingled,  with  a  schol- 
arly and  able  Preface,  of  fifteen  pages,  on  "  The  Admissi- 
bility of  Hymns,  and  the  supposed  exclusive  Authority  of 
the  Old  and  New  Versions.  The  alterations  are  frequent 
and  considerable."  He  says :  "The  object  nearest  the  Edi- 
tor's heart  is  the  promotion  of  Congregational  Singing." 
The  Collection  is  preceded  by  an  "  introductory  hymn,"  the 
first  two  stanzas  of  which  are  as  follows  : 

"  Great  Grod,  the  Life  of  all  our  joys  ! 
Whilst  now  thj  name  our  song  employs, 

Thy  needful  gifts  impart ; 
Pure  thoughts,  to  grateful  worship  given, 
Affections  sweet,  and  fixed  on  heaven. 

The  music  of  the  heart. 

*'  As  in  the  sacred  work  we  join, 
Thy  glory  be  our  whole  design, — 

Thy  glory,  not  our  own  : 
Help  us  to  sing  with  awe  profound; 
In  self -abasing  notes  to  sound 

A  Saviour's  praise  alone." 

He  departed  this  life,  at  the  Rectory  of  St.  Michael's, 
Gloucester,  November  6,  1838,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of 
his  age. 


THOMAS   KEN. 

1637-1711. 

In  confirmation  of  "the  universal  popularity  of  the 
two  beautiful  hymns  for  morning  and  evening,  by  Bishop 
Kenn,"  beginning 

"  Awake,  my  soul!  and  with  the  sun," 
"  Glory  to  thee,  my  God!  this  night," — 

Bishop  Heber  said,  that  they  were  then  "  more  generally 
24 


370  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

sung,  by  a  cottage  fire-side,  than  any  other  compositions 
with  which  [he  was]  acquainted,"  and  that  they  were,  "  in 
country  parishes,  almost  universally  used."  A  few  years 
later,  James  Montgomery  said :  "Bishop  Kenn  has  laid  the 
Church  of  Christ  under  abiding  obligations  by  his  three 
hjTuns,  Morning,  Evening,  and  Midnight.  Had  he  endowed 
three  hospitals,  he  might  have  been  less  a  benefactor  to 
posterity.  .  .  .  The  well-known  doxology,— 

'  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,'  etc., 

is  a  masterpiece  at  once  of  amplification  and  compression." 
No  one  stanza  of  English  verse  has  been  so  often,  so  uni- 
versally, and  so  heartily,  sung  in  the  worship  of  God. 

Thomas  Ken  was  a  nonjuring  bishop  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Born,  July,  1637,  he  came  upon  the  scene  of  act- 
ive life,  in  the  midst  of  the  civil  conflict  that  rent  asunder 
the  Church  and  Commonwealth  of  Great  Britain,  in  the 
days  of  the  Great  Protector.  His  father,  Thomas  Ken,  was 
a  barber-surgeon,  and  an  attorney  of  Furnival's  Inn,  resid- 
ing at  Little  Berkhampstead,  Hertfordshire,  where  the  son 
was  born.  His  mother,  Martha  Chalkhill,  was  his  father's 
second  wife,  and  he  was  her  younger  son.  She  died  when 
he  was  four  years  old :  and  his  father,  ten  years  later. 
When  he  was  in  his  ninth  year,  his  elder  sister,  Anne,  be- 
came tlie  wife  of  the  well-known  Izaak  Walton,  who  was 
more  than  forty  years  his  senior,  and  became  to  him,  after 
the  decease  of  his  parents,  a  wise  and  loving  guardian  and 
counselor. 

At  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  was  sent  to  "Wykeham's 
School  near  Winchester,"  then  under  the  wardenship  of 
that  eminent  Presbyterian  divine.  Rev.  John  Harris,  D.D., 
who  had  Just  been  a  member  of  the  Westminster  Assembly 
of  Divines ;  and,  of  course,  had  "  taken  the  covenant." 
Having  become  a  superannuate,  he  left  Winchester  at 
eighteen,  and,  in  1656,  was  entered  a  student  of  Hart  Hall 
(now  Magdalen  Hall),  Oxford.  In  1657,  he  was  admitted 
Probationary  FeUow  of  New  College,  as  a  Winchester  stu- 
dent.    The  next  year,  Cromwell  died,  and  Oxford  speedily 


THOMAS  KEN.  '  871 

relapsed  into  its  former  routine,  ridding  itself,  as  speedily 
as  it  dared,  of  its  recent  Puritanism.  Ken  felt  the  re- 
bound, and,  whatever  might  have  been  the  effects  of  his 
Winchester  training,  graduated,  B.A.,  May  S,  1661,  a  thor- 
ough High  Churchman.  Shortly  after,  he  took  orders,  and 
became  Chaplain  to  William  Lord  Maynard,  Comptroller 
of  his  Majesty's  household.  Maynard  had  been  a  sufferer 
for  his  loyalty,  and  Ken  became,  more  than  ever,  under 
such  influences,  an  enemy  of  Puritanism. 

In  1663,  he  obtained  the  Rectory  of  Little  Eaton,  Essex. 
Morley,  Izaak  Walton's  bosom-friend,  having  in  1662  been 
made  Bishop  of  Winchester,  a  fellowship  in  Winchester  Col- 
lege was  given  Ken  in  1666,  and  he  was,  also,  made  the  Bish- 
op's domestic  Chaplain,— Walton  having  become  one  of  the 
household,  after  his  wife's  death  in  1662.  The  following 
year.  Bishop  Morley  preferred  him  to  the  Rectory  of  Brix- 
ton, Isle  of  Wight ;  June  1, 1669,  he  made  him  a  Prebendary 
of  the  Cathedral  at  Winchester ;  and,  shortly  after,  he  gave 
him  the  Rectory  of  East  Woodhay,  Hampshire.  All  these 
preferments  appear  to  have  been  given  in  return  for  the 
refuge,  shelter,  and  comfort,  accorded  to  Morley  by  Ken's 
sister  Anne,  at  her  cottage  near  Stafford,  in  the  days  of  his 
penury  and  proscription  as  a  loyalist. 

In  1675,  Ken  compiled  and  published  "A  Manual  of 
Prayer  for  the  Use  of  the  Scholars  of  Winchester  College, 
and  all  other  Devout  Christians."  To  the  edition  of  1700, 
for  the  first  time,  his  three  hymns  were  appended.  The 
same  year,  being  the  Pope's  Jubilee,  he  accompanied  his 
nephew,  young  Izaak  Walton,  to  Rome  and  back,  much  to 
his  prejudice  among  some  of  his  people,  who  accused  him 
of  Papal  partialities.  In  1679,  the  Princess  of  Orange, 
daughter  of  James,  the  King's  brother,  having  desired  an 
English  chaplain  to  be  sent  to  her  at  the  Hague,  Charles 
appointed  Ken  to  the  honorable  position,  having  previously 
made  him  Chaplain  in  Ordinary  to  his  Majesty.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1683,  he  accompanied  Lord  Dartmouth,  as  Chap- 
lain of  the  Fleet,  to  Tangier.  On  his  return,  he  remained 
at  Winchester,  until  the  death  of  his  great  patron.  Bishop 


372  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Morley,  in  October,  1684 ;  and,  January  25,  1685,  he  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells.  Twelve  days  after- 
wards, February  6th,  he  stood  by  the  bed  of  Charles  II.,  as 
the  dissolute  monarch  breathed  his  last,  giving  little  heed 
to  the  Bishop's  pious  counsel,  "  though  the  most  in  favor 
with  him  of  all  the  bishops." 

The  next  three  years  were  given  to  the  spiritual  care  of 
his  diocese,  sadly  in  want  of  his  attention  ;  and  greatly  was 
it  profited  by  his  godly  instructions  and  faithful  labors. 
In  May,  1688,  he,  with  six  others  of  the  Episcopal  bench, 
asked  the  King  to  be  released  from  reading  the  Royal 
"Declaration  for  Liberty  of  Conscience,"  and,  in  conse- 
quence, with  the  other  six,  suffered  a  week's  imprisonment 
in  the  Tower.  But  a  greater  trial  remained.  James,  his 
Royal  Master,  was  (January  28,  1789)  deposed  by  Parlia- 
ment, and  William  and  Mary  called  (February  7th)  to  the 
vacant  throne.  Ken,  being,  as  Burnet  says,  "a  man  of 
warm  imagination,  at  the  time  of  the  King's  first  landing, 
declared  heartily  for  him,  and  advised  all  the  Gentlemen 
that  he  saw,  to  go  and  join  with  him."  But,  when  called 
to  take  the  oaths,  he  declined,  and  eventually  (February  1, 
1691)  was  deprived  of  his  bishopric,  as  a  nonjuror. 

He  found  a  hearty  welcome  at  Longleat,  Wiltshire,  the 
seat  of  his  devoted  friend  and  fellow-collegian,  Lord  Wey- 
mouth. At  the  decease  (November  27,  1703)  of  his  succes- 
sor, Dr.  Richard  Kidder,  Queen  Anne  offered  to  restore  him 
to  the  See,  and,  on  his  declining  it,  gave  him  a  pension  of 
£200  per  annum.  For  twenty  years  he  continued  in  his 
retirement,  occupied  in  literary  and  benevolent  pursuits, 
and  in  the  cultivation  of  personal  piety.  He  died,  at  Long- 
leat, March  19, 1711,  iind  his  remains  were  buried  at  Frome. 
He  never  married. 

Burnet,  spealdng  of  his  earlier  life,  says,  he  was  "  a  man 
of  an  ascetic  course  of  life,  and  yet  of  a  very  lively  temper, 
but  too  hot  and  sudden.  He  had  a  very  edifying  way  of 
preaching ;  but  it  was  more  apt  to  move  the  passions,  than 
to  instruct     So  that  his  sermons  were  rather  beautiful 


THOMAS  KEN.  373 

tlian  solid;  yet  Ms  way  in  them  was  very  taking.  The 
King  seemed  fond  of  him ;  and  by  him  and  Turner  (Bishop 
of  Ely)  the  Papists  hoped,  that  great  progress  might  be 
made  in  gaining  or  at  least  deluding  the  clergy." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  high-churcli  party  represent  him 
as  almost  a  paragon  of  piety.  The  following  stanza,  the 
first  of  eleven,  addressed  to  Ken,  shoAvs  the  ordinary  esti- 
mate of  the  bishop  by  "  Churchmen  ": 

"  Dead  to  all  else,  alive  to  God  alone, 

Ken,  the  confessor  meek,  abandons  power, 
Palace,  and  mitre,  and  cathedral  thi'one, 

(A  shroud  alone  reserved),  and,  in  the  bower 

Of  meditation,  hallows  eveiy  hour 
With  orison,  and  strews,  in  life's  decline. 

With  pale  hand,  o'er  his  evening  path,  thy  flower, 
O  Poetry  !  pouring  the  lay  divine. 
In  tributary  love,  before  Jehovah's  shrLae." 

Besides  his  "  Manual  of  Prayers,"  he  published  several 
"  Sermons "  and  Letters ;  also,  "  An  Exposition  of  the 
Church  Catechism "  (1685) ;  "  Directions  for  Prayer " 
(1685) ;  and  •"  Prayers  for  the  Use  of  all  Persons  who 
come  to  the  Bath  for  Cure"  (1692).  After  his  decease, 
appeared  (1711)  in  his  name,  "  Expostulatoria ;  or,  Com- 
plaints of  the  Church  of  England."  His  poetical  works 
were  published  (1721)  in  4  volumes,  the  only  complete  edi- 
tion. His  poems  are  none  of  them  of  a  high  order.  He  is 
known  generally  only  by  his  two  hymns,  Morning  and 
Evening,  and  his  incomparable  doxology,  attached  to  each 
of  them. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  Ken  was  familiar  with  the  writ- 
ings of  Sir  Thomas  Browne,  the  well-known  author  of  the 
"  Religio  Medici."  This  admirable  work  appeared  in  1642. 
It  contains  a  poetical  "  Colloquy  with  God,"  which  has  not 
only,  as  Montgomery  remarked  in  his  "Christian  Poet" 
(1827),  the  general  ideas  of  Bishop  Ken's  Evening  Hymn, 
but  in  many  cases  the  same  expressions,  rhymes,  and  turns 
of  thought.  Sir  Thomas'  hymn  is  subjoined,  with  which 
Ken's  may  easily  be  compared : 


374  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 


"a  colloquy  with  god." 

"The  mght  is  come.     Like  to  the  day, 
Depart  not  thou,  great  God !  away. 
Let  not  my  sins,  black  as  the  night, 
Eclipse  the  lustre  of  thy  light. 
Keep  still  in  my  horizon,  for  to  me 
The  sun  makes  not  the  day,  but  thee. 

Thou,  whose  nature  cannot  sleep, 
On  my  temples  sentry  keep. 
Guard  me  'gainst  tliose  watchful  foes, 
Whose  eyes  are  open  whUe  mine  close. 
Let  no  dreams  my  head  infest. 
But  such  as  Jacob's  temples  blest. 
While  I  do  rest,  my  soul  advance, 
Make  my  sleep  a  holy  trance, 
That  I  may,  my  rest  being  wrought, 
Awake  unto  some  holy  thought, 
And  with  as  active  vigor  rxm 
My  course,  as  doth  the  nimble  sun. 

Sleep  is  a  death.     Oh !  make  me  try, 
By  sleepiag,  what  it  is  to  die ; 
Arid  as  gently  lay  my  head 
On  my  grave  as  now  my  bed.  • 

Howe'er  I  rest,  great  God !  let  me 
Awake  again,  at  last,  with  thee ; 
And,  thus  assured,  behold !  I  lie 
Securely,  or  to  wake  or  die. 
These  are  my  drowsy  days.     La  vain 
I  do  now  wake  to  sleep  again. 
Oh !  come,  sweet  hour !  when  I  shall  never 
Sleep  again,  but  wake  forever ! " 

Ken's  Evening  Hymn  contains  eleven  stanzas  besides  the 
doxology.  The  first  stanza  of  his  Morning  Hymn  is  evi- 
dently an  outgrowth  of  Browne's.  The  three  hymns,  in 
full,  and  as  wiitten  by  Ken,  are  reproduced  in  Sir  Roundell 
Palmer's  "Book  of  Praise." 


WILLIAM  KETHE.  375 

WILLIAM  KETHE. 

The  version  of  "  The  Old  Hundredth  Psalm,"  beginning 

"AH  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell," 

is  a  general  favorite,  not  only  among  the  strict  "  Psalm- 
singing  "  churclies  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  but  with  the 
lovers  of  "  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs  "  as  well.  In  the 
year  1561,  the  Old  Psalter  appeared  with  an  addition  of 
twenty-five  new  versions  of  Psalms,  of  which  this  of  the 
100th  Psalm  was  one.  All  the  twenty-five  were  attributed 
to  "W.  K."  save  this  one,  to  which  the  initials  "T.  S." 
(Thomas  Sternhold)  were  prefixed.  But  Sternhold  died 
in  1549,  and  shortly  after,  his  friend,  John  Hopkins,  pub- 
lished his  thirty-seven  versions  of  Psalms,  mth  the  title, — 
"All  such  Psalms  of  David  as  Thomas  Sternholde,  late 
Groome  of  the  King's  Majesty e's  Robes,  did  in  his  Lifetime 
drawe  into  Englyshe  Metre."  This  version  of  the  lOOth 
Psalm  was  not  of  the  number.  It  is  said  that  another 
edition  appeared  in  1561,  with  "W.  K."  substituted  for 
"T.  S."  in  the  case  of  this  Psalm  ;  as  was  also  done  in  the 
Scottish  Psalter  of  1564.  The  initials  "T.  S."  were  not 
again  prefixed.  The  whole  of  the  twenty-five  additions  of 
1561  should,  doubtless,  have  been  credited  to  "  W.  K.,"  as 
appears  from  the  uniformity  of  their  style. 

William  Kethe  (Kith,  Kji;he,  Keith)  was  a  clergyman,  of 
the  Reformation  party,  and  of  Scotch  descent,  preaching 
in  England  during  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  His  earliest 
production  extant  is  a  broadside  of  twenty-two  stanzas  in 
ballad  style,  entitled, — 

"  Of  IVIlSRUL-ES  CONTENDING  WITH  GODS  WORD  BY  NAME, 
And  THEN  OF  ONES  JUDGMENT  THAT  HEARD  OF  THE  SAME." 

It  was  printed  by  "Heugh  Syngelton  dwellynge  -  over- 
agaynst  the  Stiliardes."  It  exposes  the  Papists  as  the 
promoters  of  disorder  and  bad  government.  The  last 
stanza  is  subjoined : 


376  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  But  who  shall  stand  douting,  when  our  noble  Kynge 
Wyth  his  faythfull  coiinsaill  perceave  shall  the  thinge, 
But  that  they  wyll  shortly  mysrule  so  represse, 
That  glad  shall  the  good  he  to  se  suche  redi'esse. 
Finis,    quod  Wyllyam  Kethe, 

Dominus  mihi  adjutor.^'' 

Singleton's  first  place  of  business  (1553)  was — "Tern 
strete,  ouer  agaynste  the  Styliardes,  at  the  sygne  of  the 
Dobbel-hood."  At  the  death  of  King  Edward,  and  the 
accession  of  Queen  Mary,  Kethe  fled  to  the  Continent,  and 
found  refuge  at  Frankfort,  Germany.  While  here,  the 
Rev.  John  Plough,  another  exile,  residing  at  Basil,  wrote 
a  pamphlet  against  him.  He  was  with  John  Knox,  in 
1555,  at  Geneva.  During  his  exile,  he  wrote  a  ballad 
against  the  Papists,  to  be  sung  to  a  then  well-known  air, 
called,  "Tie  thy  mare.  Tomboy";  with  the  title  :  "A  Bal- 
let, declaringe  the  fal  of  the  whore  of  babylon,  intytuled 
Tye  thy  mare  torn  boye  w'  other,  and  there  vnto  anexid  a 
prologe  to  the  reders."  His  subscription  to  the  ballad  is 
"William  Kythe."  It  is  followed  by  "An  Exortacion  to 
the  papists,"  which  is  subscribed,  "Wylliam  Kith."  He 
also  wrote  "  A  Seeing  Glasse  sent  to  the  Nobles  and  Gen- 
tlemen of  England,"  which  was  printed  by  Singleton. 

On  the  accession  of  Queen  Elizabeth  (1558),  he  returned 
to  England,  and  was  subsequently  settled  over  the  parish 
of  Okeford,  Dorsetshire.  He  served,  also,  as  Chaplain  of 
the  English  forces  at  Havre,  in  1563.  A  sermon  from  his 
pen  is  extant,  "  made  at  Blandf ord  Forum  "  (Dorsetsliire) 
17th  January,  1571-2.  It  is  affinned,  that  he  made  several 
contributions  to  the  Scotch  Version  of  the  Psalms.  His 
ballad  of  "  Misrules  "  was  reprinted  by  the  "  Percy  Soci- 
ety "  in  1840.  The  days  of  his  birth  and  death  have  not 
been  ascertained. 


FRANCIS  SCOTT  KEY.  377 

FRANCIS  SCOTT  KEY. 

1779-1843. 

Mr.  Key,  the  renowned  author  of  "  The  Star  Spangled 
Banner,"  was  the  son  of  John  Ross  Key,  an  oflScer  in  the 
American  Army  of  the  Revolution,  and  a  descendant  of 
some  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Maryland.  At  the  pater- 
nal home  in  Frederick  Co.,  Francis  was  born,  August  1, 
1779.  He  was  educated  at  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis, 
Md.,  and,  after  his  graduation,  studied  law  in  the  same 
town,  with  his  uncle,  Philip  Barton  .  Key.  In  1801,  he 
commenced  the  practice  of  law,  at  Fredericktown,  Md.  ; 
but,  a  few  years  later,  removed  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
became  District  Attorney  for  the  Territory.  He  died,  Jan- 
uary 11, 1843.  He  was  for  many  years  a  devout  and  exem- 
plary Christian. 

"  The  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  as  in  the  case  of  every  gen- 
uine song,  was  the  outburst  of  a  sensitive  heart  glowing  with 
emotion.  Key  and  his  friend,  Skinner,  had  been  sent  with 
a  flag  of  truce,  August  13, 1814,  fi^om  Baltimore  to  the  Brit- 
ish fleet,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac,  to  obtain  the  release 
01-  prisoners  captured  in  the  expedition  against  Washing- 
ton. As  the  enemy  were  Just  about  to  make  an  attack  on 
Baltimore,  the  truce-boat  was  detained  with  the  fleet,  imder 
guard.  The  bombardment  of  Fort  McHemy,  begun  in  the 
evening,  continued  through  the  night.  Key  and  his  friends 
awaited  the  result  with  the  deepest  anxiety.  Just  before 
day,  the  cannonading  ceased,  and  they  paced  the  deck  till 
dawn,  eager  for  the  first  streak  of  day  to  disclose  the  result. 
With  "the  dawn's  early  light,"  they  caught  sight  of  "the 
broad  stripes  and  bright  stars "  of  the  dear  old  flag  still 
floating  over  the  fort.  As  they  now  made  their  way  back 
to  the  city,  Key,  aU  aglow  with  the  fervor  of  the  moment, 
composed  and  wrote  on  the  back  of  a  letter  this  grand  Na- 
tional Lyric.  The  same  day  it  was  put  in  print,  and  circu- 
lated aU  over  the  city.     It  was  written,  and  sung  then  and 


378  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

now,  to  the  tune  of  "  Anacreon  in  Heaven."  The  tnne  had 
previously  been  sung  to  Thomas  Paine's  Ode,  entitled, 
"  Adams  and  Liberty,"  with  the  chorus, — 

"  For  ne'er  shall  the  sons  of  Columbia  be  slaves, 
While  the  earth  bears  a  plant,  or  the  sea  rolls  its  waves." 

Key's  hymn,  in  seven  stanzas, 

"Before  the  Lord  we  bow,"  etc., 

wa^  written  for  the  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July,  1832. 
He  also  wrote  the  following  spiritual  song,  which  has  been 
set  to  appropriate  music : 

"  If  life's  pleasures  cheer  thee, 
Give  them  not  th  j  heart, 
Lest  the  gifts  ensnare  thee 
From  thy  God  to  part : 
His  praises  speak,     His  favor  seek. 
Fix  there  thy  hope's  foundation ; 
Love  him  and  he    Shall  ever  be 
The  Rock  of  thy  salvation. 

"  If  sorrow  e'er  befall  thee, 
Painful  though  it  be, 
Let  not  fear  appall  thee, 
To  thy  Saviour  flee : 
He,  ever  near.     Thy  pi-ayer  will  hear, 

And  calm  thy  perturbation ; 
The  waves  of  woe    Shall  ne'er  o'erflow 
The  Rock  of  thy  salvation. 

"  Death  shall  never  harm  thee, 
Shrink  not  from  his  blow, 
For  thy  God  shall  arm  thee. 
And  victory  bestow : 
For  death  shall  brmg     To  thee  no  sting, 

The  grave  no  desolation ; 
'T  is  gaia  to  die.     With  Jesus  nigh, — 
The  Rock  of  thy  salvation." 

His  "  Poems  "  were  published  (1857)  at  Baltimore,  with  a 
preface  by  his  brother-in-law,  Hon.  Roger  B.  Taney,  Chief- 
Justice  of  the  United  States. 


WILLIAM  KINGSBURY.  379 

WILLIAM  KINGSBURY. 

174^1818. 

The  Rev.  William  Ki]srGSBURT  was  born,  July  12, 
1744,  in  Bishopsgate  Street,  London.  He  was  piously 
trained,  and  from  a  child  was  conscientious  and  devout. 
At  the  age  of  nine  years,  he  was  left,  with  four  other 
children,  to  the  care  of  a  widowed  mother,  with  slender 
means  of  support.  He  was  sent,  first,  to  the  Merchant 
Taylors'  School,  and  then,  two  years  later,  to  Christ's 
Hospital  School,  for  three  years.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
years,  he  was  admitted  to  the  Mile  End  Congregational 
Academy,  of  which  the  Rev.  Drs.  Conder,  Walker,  and 
Gibbons,  were  then  Tutors.  After  a  season  of  deep  convic- 
tion and  depression,  he  was  filled  (October  7,  1760)  ^\dth 
"joy  and  peace  in  believing."  In  February,  1762,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  church  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Gibbons, 
Haberdashers'  Hall ;  and,  in  August,  1763,  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen, preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  church  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Walker  (another  of  his  Tutors),  Bethnal  Green.  His 
Academic  course  was  completed  in  June,  1764. 

He  had,  while  a  student,  supplied  the  pulpit  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Church  at  Tooting,  Surrey.  A  few  months  after 
graduation,  he  began  to  supply  the  pulpit  of  the  Church 
at  Southampton  (where  Isaac  Watts  began  his  career),  and 
was  ordained  their  pastor,  October  8, 1765.  The  congrega- 
tion was  raised,  during  his  ministry  of  forty-four  years, 
from  a  very  low,  depressed  state  to  a  healthful,  vigorous, 
and  prosperous  condition.  He  married,  November,  1768,  a 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Mordecai  Andrews,  of  London.  She 
was  taken  from  him,  by  death,  in  1788.  In  addition  to  his 
pastoral  work,  he  opened,  by  the  advice  of  his  dear  friend, 
John  Howard,  the  philanthropist,  an  Academy  for  young 
gentlemen.  In  1787,  he  declined  the  offer  of  the  resident 
Tutorship  of  Homerton  College. 

Mr.  Kingsbury  was  associated  with  those  excellent  cler- 


380  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

gymen,  Cardogan,  Newton,  and  Romaine,  in  the  promotion 
of  the  various  evangelical  efforts  of  the  day.  He  intro- 
duced Sunday-School  instruction  (1786)  into  Southampton. 
He  was  one  of  the  earliest  advocates,  and  in  1795  became 
one  of  the  Founders,  of  the  London  Missionary  Society. 
He  was,  also,  one  of  the  originators  and  editors  of  the  Lon- 
don Eviangelical  Magazine,  to  the  columns  of  which  he 
was  an  occasional  contributor. 

He  was  associated,  during  his  later  years  (1800-1809),  in 
the  pastorate,  with  the  Rev.  George  Clayton  and  the  Rev. 
Henry  Lacy.  A  paralytic  stroke  compelled  him  (July, 
1809)  to  resign  his  pastoral  charge,  and  to  retire  to  Caver- 
sham,  near  Reading,  where,  in  great  comfort,  he  spent  his 
remaining  days,  until  his  decease,  February  18, 1818.  His 
second  wife  had  long  before  become  insane.  He  was,  says 
Dr.  Morrison,  "  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  the  min- 
isterial character,  that  has  graced  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
modern  times ; — a  man  of  rare  and  exalted  worth,  adorned 
by  equal  strength  and  refinement  of  mind,  and  nobly  con- 
secrated to  the  cause  of  God  and  souls  ;  yet  humble  to  a 
proverb."  His  only  publications,  besides  his  contributions 
to  the  Evangelical  Magazine,  were  occasional  Sermons, 
and  the  two  hymns, 

"Let  us  awake  our  joys,"  etc., 
"  Great  Lord  of  all  thy  churches!  hear,"  etc., 

which  were  contributed  to  Dobell's  Selection  of  hymns 
(1806). 


ANDREW  KIPPIS; 

1725-1795. 

Poetry  was  not  Dr.  Kippis'  forte  ;  his  prose  was  better 
than  his  verse.  He  was  of  Puritan  ancestry,  and  was 
bom,  March  28, 1725,  at  Nottingham,  England.  His  father, 


ANDREW  KIPPIS.  381 

Robert,  who  was  a  hosier,  died  in  1730  ;  and  the  fatherless 
child  was  received  into  the  house  of  his  grandfather,  An- 
drew, at  Sleaford,  Lincolnshire.  He  was  educated  at  the 
grammar-school  of  this  place ;  and,  at  the  age  of  sixteen, 
was  induced  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Merivale,  the  pastor  of 
the  Independent  congregation  there,  to  study  for  the  min- 
istry. He  became  a  pupil  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Doddridge,  of 
]S'orthampton ;  and  during  his  five  years'  course,  rapidly 
advanced  in  learning. 

His  ministerial  career  began  in  1746,  when  (September) 
he  took  charge  of  a  Dissenting  congregation  at  Boston, 
Lincolnshire.  Four  years  later,  he  succeeded  the  Rev. 
John  Mason  (author  of  "  Self -Knowledge  "),  at  Dorking, 
Surrey.  Then,  in  June,  1753,  he  became  the  successor 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hughes,  as  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Westminster,  London,  in  which  position  he  con- 
tinued to  the  end  of  life.  He  had,  early  in  his  course, 
abandoned  the  Calvinism  of  his  ancestors,  and  become  a 
decided  Arian.  He  devoted  himself,  during  a  long  life,  to 
the  promotion  of  Literature,  Science,  and  the  Arts,  as  well 
as  Morals  and  Religion.  He  made  frequent  contributions 
to  the  columns  of  the  Oentleman's  Magazine,  the  Monthly 
Beview,  and  The  Library.  His  intelligence,  refinement, 
and  great  benevolence  of  manner,  made  him  a  great  favor- 
ite in  cultivated  circles.  He  was  held,  everywhere,  in  high 
respect. 

In  addition  to  his  pastorate,  he  was  appointed  (1763)  Clas- 
sical and  Theological  Tutor  in  Coward's  Academy,  Hoxton, 
London,  where  he  was  associated  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Abraham 
Rees,  a  minister  of  kindred  views.  The  honorary  degree 
of  D.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  in  June,  1767,  by  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh.  He  was,  also,  chosen  (March,  1778) 
a  Fellow  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  and  (June,  1779)  a 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society.  As  he  could  no  longer,  in 
any  sense,  be  regarded  as  an  orthodox  divine,  he  resigned 
(1784)  his  Tutorship  in  Coward's  Academy.  Yet,  to  the 
last,  he  cherished  the  utmost  affection  for  the  memory  of 
Dr.  Doddridge,  wrote  a  Memoir  of  his  Life,  and  edited  his 
"Lectures." 


382  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

He  married  (September,  1753),  on  his  removal  to  London. 
Miss  Elizabeth  Bott,  the  daughter  of  a  respectable  mer- 
chant of  Boston,  Lincolnshire,  and  a  member  of  his  first 
pastoral  charge.  He  died  of  a  fever,  at  his  home  in  Lon- 
don, October  8,  1795,  in  his  seventy-first  year,  universally 
lamented. 

Dr.  Kippis  was  a  most  diligent  and  laborious  student. 
He  wrote  and  published  numerous  articles  in  the  Annual 
Registers,  Monthly  Magazines,  and  other  periodicals,  of  one 
of  which — The  Library — he  was  the  editor.  He  wrote  the 
"  Life,"  and  edited  the  "  Works  "  (1788),  in  eleven  volumes, 
of  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Lardner,  D.D.;  also,  as  before  inti- 
mated (1794),  Dr.  Doddridge's  "  Course  of  Lectures,"  with 
very  extensive  and  valuable  additions,  in  two  volumes.  He 
published  a  volume  of  his  "Sermons  on  Practical  Sub- 
jects," in  1791.  He  undertook  a  new  edition  of  the  "  Bio- 
graphia '  Britannica,"  for  which  he  wrote  a  great  many 
valuable  articles,  but  he  died  in  the  midst  of  the  work. 
Five  folio  volumes  were  published  (1778-1793)  ending  with 
"Fastolff."  A  section  of  the  6th  volume,  from  "Featley 
to  Foster,"  had  been  printed,  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
was  probably  the  only  man  who  had  read  the  whole  of 
"  The  General  Dictionary,  Historical  and  Critical "  (Lon- 
don, 1734-1741),  ten  volumes,  folio.  Dr.  Rees  says  of  him : 
"  The  natural  powers  of  his  mind  were  cultivated  with  an 
assiduity  and  perseverance  of  application,  in  which  he  had 
few  superiors,  and  not  many  equals." 

In  connection  with  the  Rev.  Abraham  Rees,  D.D.,  Rev. 
Thomas  Jervis,  and  Rev.  Thomas  Morgan,  he  compiled,  and 
published,  a  few  months  only  before  his  death  (1795),  "  A 
Collection  of  Hymns  and  Psalms  for  Public  and  Private 
Worship."  It  contained  690  Hymns,  much  pruned  and 
altered,  with  the  names  of  the  Authors,  as  far  as  known, 
attached.  Previous  to  this,  "  the  generality  of  the  Presby- 
terian Societies  in  the  Metropolis  and  its  vicinity  [had] 
contented  themselves  solely  with  Dr.  Watts's  Psalms." 
A  second  edition  was  called  for  in  1797.  The  Collection 
"  was  published  with  a  view  to  promote  just  and  rational 


LAUEENTIUS  LAURENTI.  383 

sentiments  of  religion  [in]  social  worship  and  private  de- 
votion." Two  only  of  the  hymns  were  from  his  own  pen. 
The  one  beginning 

"  How  rich  thy  gifts,  almighty  King ! " 

was  written  for  a  "  National  Thanksgiving."  The  theme 
of  the  other,  which  is  here  given,  is  "  The  Unknown  God  ": 

**  Great  God!  in  vain  man's  narrow  view 
Attempts  to  look  thy  nature  through ; 
Our  lab'ring  powers  with  reverence  own, — 
Thy  glories  never  can  he  kaown. 

"  Not  the  high  seraph's  mighty  thought, 
Who  countless  years  his  God  has  sought, 
Such  wondrous  height  or  depth  can  find, 
Or  fully  trace  thy  boundless  mind. 

"  Yet,  Lord !  thy  kindness  deigns  to  show 
Enough  for  mortal  minds  to  know ; 
While  wisdom,  goodness,  power  divine. 
Through  all  thy  works  and  conduct  shine. 

"  Oh !  may  our  souls  with  rapture  trace 
Thy  works  of  nature  and  of  grace, 
Explore  thy  sacred  name,  and  still 
Press  on  to  know  and  do  thy  wUl." 


LAUEENTIUS  LAURENTI. 
1660-1722. 

The  author  of  the  hymn  beginning 

"Ermimtert  euch,  ihr  Frommen," 
("Rejoice,  all  ye  believers  I  "—Tr.  Miss  J.  BORTHWICK.) 

was  born,  June  8, 1660,  at  Husum,  in  the  Duchy  of  Hol- 
stein.    His  father  was  an  ardent  lover  of  music,  and  edu- 


384  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

cated  his  son,  who  inherited  his  tastes,  for  the  musical  pro- 
fession. After  a  thorough  training  at  Kiel,  the  son  was,  in 
1684,  appointed  Precentor  and  Director  of  the  Choir,  at  the 
cathedral  church  of  Bremen.  He  published,  in  1700,  at 
Bremen,  his  "  Evangelia  Melodica,"  consisting  of  148  spir- 
itual songs  and  hymns,  arranged  according  to  the  different 
gospels  for  Sundays  and  holy  days,  and  adapted  to  known 
melodies.  His  hymns  are  of  the  pietist  school,  and  are  re- 
plete with  spiritual  fervor,  though  written  with  great  sim- 
plicity.    He  died  at  Bremen,  May  29, 1722. 


EICHARD  LEE. 

The  eucharistic  hymn, 

"When  I  view  my  Saviour  bleeding,"  etc., 

is  the  product  of  "  a  laborious  mechanic."  It  appeared  in 
"  Flowers  from  Sharon ;  or,  Original  Poems  on  Divine  Sub- 
jects. By  Richard  Lee.  12mo,  173  pages";  published  at 
London,  1794.  These  "  Flowers,"  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions, were  produced,  when  the  author  was  but  a  boy, 
"between  the  years  of  fifteen  and  nineteen."  Several  of 
them  were  contributed  to  the  EDangelical  Magazine,  Vols. 
I.  and  II.,  for  1793  and  1794,  and  were  published  with  the 
signature — "Ebenezer."  Mr.  Lee,  at  that  time,  resided  at 
Leicester  Fields,  London.  In  Colburn's  Biographical  Dic- 
tionary of  Living  Authors  (1816),  he  is  called,  "  a  political 
and  religious  fanatic."  In  his  "  Preface,"  Lee  says  :  "  It  is 
not  from  a  vain  supposition  of  their  poetical  merit  that  the 
ensuing  sheets  are  offered  to  the  public ;  but  from  a  con- 
viction of  the  divine  truths  they  contain, — truths  which,  I 
own,  fallen  and  depraved  reason  will  always  stumble  at, 
and  which  the  unregenerate  heart  will  never  cordially  re- 
ceive ;  but  which  the  Christian  embraces,  and  holds  fast  as 
his  chief  treasure."    The  hymns  exhibit  not  a  little  poet- 


JANE  E.  LEESON.  385 

ical  skill,  and  are  written  in  a  devout  spirit.  They  are  tlie 
prodnct  of  a  thoroughly  orthodox  mind.  His  "  Song  of 
Praise  to  the  Trinity,"  which  is  subjoined,  has  been  exten- 
sively used  as  a  Doxology : 

"  To  God,  who  chose  us  in  his  Son, 

Ere  time  its  course  began ; 
To  Christ,  who  left  his  radiant  throne, 

And  died  for  wretched  man ; 
To  God,  the  Spirit,  who  applies 
The  Lamb's  atoning  sacrifice ; 

"  To  the  eternal,  equal  Three, 
The  undivided  One, 
Let  saints  and  angels  both  agree 

To  give  the  praise  alone ; 
Li  earth,  in  heaven,  by  all  adored, 
The  holy,  holy,  holy  Lord." 


JANE  E.  LEESOK 

Miss  Leeson  is  an  English  lady,  the  particulars  of  whose 
personal  history  have  not  transpired.  She  is,  undoubtedly, 
attached  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  in  sympathy  with 
the  High  Church  party.  Her  publications  bear  the  impri- 
matur of  "  Burns,"  or  "  Masters,"  London,  and  are  favora- 
bly noticed  in  The  Christian  Remembrancer. 

Her  first  publication  appears  to  have  been,  "  Hymns  and 
Scenes  of  Childhood;  or,  A  Sponsor's  Gift,"  the  third  edition 
of  which  was  published  by  "  Bums,  London,"  and  "  Dearden, 
Nottingham,"  November,  1842.  Her  "Lady  Ella,  or  the 
Story  of  Cinderella,"  in  verse,  was  issued  in  April,  1847 ; 
her  "  Songs  of  Christian  Chivalry,"  in  September,  1848 ; 
her  "  Christian  Child's  Book,"  in  two  parts,  in  October, 
1848 ;  also,  "  The  Wreath  of  Lilies ;  a  Series  of  Simple 
Comments  for  Children,  on  the  Events  of  our  Lord's  Life"; 
her  "  Chapters  on  Deacons ;  being  a  short  Account  of  the 
25 


886  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

early  and  other  Deacons,  compiled  to  meet  tlie  awakened 
interest  manifested  on  the  subject  of  the  Diaconate,"  in 
October,  1849  ;  "  The  Ten  Commandments  Explained,  in 
Easy  Verse  for  Children,"  in  November,  1849 ;  "  The  Story 
of  a  Dream,''  in  1850 ;  and  "  Paraphrases  and  Hymns  for 
Congregational  Singing,"  in  1853.  All  these  were  pub- 
lished anonymously,  and  were  designed,  the  most  of  them, 
for  children. 
The  hymn  beginning 

"  O  Holy  Spirit,  Fount  of  love," 

is  a  translation  of  Charles  Coffin's  Breviary  hymn,  "  0  Fons 
amoris !  "  etc.,  and  was  contributed,  with  several  others,  by 
Miss  Leeson,  to  "Hymns  for  the  Use  of  the  Churches," 
published  in  1864. 


WILLIAM  FREEMAN  LLOYD. 
1791-1853. 

Mr.  Lloyd  was  the  well-known  Secretary  of  the  London 
Sunday- School  Union.  He  was  the  son  of  pious  jDarents, 
who  died  in  his  younger  days,  and  who  resided  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Uley,  Gloucestershire,  England,  where  he  was  born, 
December  22, 1791.  Early  in  life  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
cause  of  Christ,  and  at  fifteen  years  of  age  was  a  Sunday- 
School  Teacher  at  Oxford,  where  he  then  resided.  Soon 
after,  he  removed  to  London,  and  in  1810,  not  yet  twenty 
years  old,  he  became  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Sunday- 
School  Union.  In  1816,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  the  Religious  Tract  Society,  serving  both  Societies 
for  several  years. 

He  originated  the  Sunday -School  Teachers'  Magazine, 
and  edited,  for  years,  the  Qhlld's  Companion  and  the  WeeTc- 
ly  Visitor.  In  his  official  positions,  he  was  called  to  edit, 
also,  many  of  the  publications  of  the  two  Societies,  of 


MARTIN  LUTHER.  387 

whicli,  several  books  and  tracts  were  from  Ms  own  pen. 
He  was  also  much  occupied  with  compilations  and  revi- 
sions.  He  completely  identified  himself  with  the  Sunday- 
School  cause,  and  was  greatly  esteemed  and  honored  by  the 
religious  circles  of  the  metropolis  and  elsewhere  in  Great 
Britain.  He  was  a  brother  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Lloyd, 
Yicar  of  Horsley,  Gloucestershire,  at  whose  house,  Stanley 
Hall,  to  which  he  had  retired  on  the  loss  of  his  health,  he 
died,  AprH  22,  1853,  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his  age. 
He  published,  in  183.5,  "  Thoughts  in  Rhyme."  His  poetry 
is,  for  the  most  part,  quite  commonplace. 


MARTIN  LUTHER. 

1483-1546. 

It  is  not  without  reason,  that  Heinrich  Heine  called  the 
grand  old  hymn, 

"  Ein  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott," 
'     ["A  mighty  Fortress  is  our  God."— Tr.  T.  Caklyle.] 

"  The  Marseillaise- of  the  Refonnation."  It  was  the  battle- 
*  song  of  the  Church  militant,  going  forth  "  conquering  and 
to  conquer,"  in  its  terrific  conflict  with  the  hierarchy  of 
Rome.  The  date  of  its  composition  has  not  been  fully  de- 
termined. Merle  d'Aubigne  assigns  it  to  the  3d  of  April, 
1530,  when  Luther  and  his  coadjutors  were  setting  out  for 
the  Diet  of  Augsburg.  But,  in  refutation  of  this  theory, 
it  is  only  needful  to  observe,  that  it  was  printed  in  Joseph 
King's  hymn-book  that  appeared  in  1529.  It  is,  therefore, 
affirmed  by  Kubler  ("Historical  Notes,"  1865),  that  the 
probable  date  of  its  composition  was  April  19, 1529,  the  day 
on  which  the  famous  Protest,  which  gave  the  name  "  Prot- 
estants" to  the  Reformers,  was  presented  to  the  Diet  of 
Spires.     The  earliest  date  that  has  been  plausibly  sug- 


388  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

gested  is  November  1, 1527.  Either  then,  or  within  eight- 
een months  of  that  time,  it  sprang  forth  from  the  glowing 
heart  of  the  Great  Reformer. 

Sacred  song  was  one  of  the  most  eflScient  weapons  used 
by  Luther  and  his  friends  in  the  prosecution  of  their 
great  work  of  Reform.  Jerome,  in  the  fourth  century, 
had  written :  "  One  cannot  go  out  into  the  fields  without 
finding  the  plougher  at  his  hallelujahs  and  the  mower 
at  his  hymns."  And  Luther  determined  on  a  similar  move- 
ment. In  his  very  childhood,  he  was  wont,  with  at  least 
three  other  boys,  to  go  about  among  the  small  villages 
(the  four  singing  in  distinct  parts),  from  house  to  house, 
begging  food.  And  even  at  Eisenach,  years  afterwards,  he 
was  still  compelled  to  beg  his  bread,  singing  in  a  choir, 
from  door  to  door.  It  was  this  that  attracted  the  attention 
of  Madame  Cotta,  and  furnished  him,  at  her  house,  a  hos- 
pitable home  in  the  days  of  his  penurj'".  His  fine  alto  voice 
gave  him  the  position  of  chorister  in  the  monastery  at  Er- 
furt ;  and  thus  he  was  led  to  cultivate  the  art  of  which  he 
was  passionately  fond,  and  to  fit  himself  for  the  great  work 
of  creating,  for  Germany  and  the  world,  a  new  and  most 
effective  cultus — the  evangelical  churcli  song. 

To  Spalatin,  he  wrote :  "  It  is  my  intention,  aftel"  the 
example  of  the  prophets  and  the  ancient  fathers,  to  make 
German  psalms  for  the  peoi)le ;  that  is,  spiritual  songs, 
whereby  the  Word  of  God  may  be  kept  alive  among  them 
by  singing.  We  seek,  therefore,  everywhere  for  poets." 
A  poet  himself,  he  wrote  thirty-seven  hymns,  some  of  them 
being  versions  of  the  Psalms ;  others,  translations  of  old 
Latin  hymns  in  use  among  the  people ;  and  others  still, 
original  compositions.  At  first  they  were  printed  on  leaf- 
lets, and  scattered  far  and  wide  among  the  people,  by  whom 
they  were  eagerly  caught  up  and  committed  to  memory. 

The  first  hymn-book  of  the  Reformation  was  the  "Er- 
furter  Enchiridion,"  printed  at  Erfurt  in  1524.  It  contained 
a  considerable  part  of  Luther's  hymns.  Three  others  were 
issued  within  the  next  six  or  seven  years — compiled  re- 
spectively by  Johann  Walther,  Joseph  Klug,  and  Valentin 


MARTIN  LUTHER.  389 

Babst.  Walther,  in  1524,  published,  in  conjunction  with 
Luther,  the  first  Chorale  Book  of  the  Reformation.  The 
hymns  in  these  Collections  were  properly  religious  ballads, 
written,  many  of  them,  to  suit  popular  melodies,  and  set, 
in  other  cases,  to  simple  and  telling  tunes  composed  ex- 
pressly for  them,  of  which  Luther  composed  a  considerable 

number. 

So  popular  did  these  hymns  speedily  become,  that  not 
less  than  "four  printers  in  Erfurt  alone,"  it  is  said,  "were 
entirely  occupied  in  printing  and  publishing  them."  They 
were  sung  everywhere,  pemieating  the  public  mmd  with 
the  great  truths  of  the  Reformed  doctrine,  and  baffling  the 
artifices  of  the  priesthood.  Whole  villages  and  towns  were 
thus  won  over  to  what  was  called  "  the  new  religion,''  but 
which  was,  in  reality,  the  old  doctrine  of  the  Saviour  and 
his  Apostles  ;  "  and  the  roads  of  Germany,  which  had  so 
lately  swarmed  with  men  and  women  on  their  way  to  buy 
indulgences,  now  echoed  to  the  Joyful  starizas  of  the  Re- 
formers." 

Audin,  the  Catholic,  in  his  "Life  of  Luther,"  says,  that 
Luther's  hymns  "  had  prodigious  success  ;  the  Latin  hymns 
ceased  all  at  once,  and,  in  the  di\dne  service,  nothing  else 
was  heard  but  the  harmonious  stanzas  of  the  reformer." 
"Luther,"  said  the  Catholics,  "has  done  us  more  harm  by 
his  songs  than  by  his  sennons."    Cardinal  Thomas-a-Jesu 
wrote,  in  the  sixteenth  century:  "  The  interests  of  Luther 
are  furthered,  in  an  extraordinary  degree,  by  the  singing 
of  his  hymns  by  people  of  every  class,  not  only  in  schools 
and  churches,  but  in  dwellings  and  shops,  in  markets, 
streets,  and  fields."    The  Papacy  was  powerless  before  this 
great  outburst  of  sacred  song.     A  national  hymnology— 
vehement  and  intensely  passionate,  richly  laden  with  the 
great  truths  of  the  Gospel,  expressed  in  the  rugged  and 
idiomatic  tongue  of  fatherland,  level  with  the  popular 
mind,  and  adapted  to  the  people's  wants— was  thus  created, 
of  which  Martin  Luther  was  confessedly  the  father  and 
founder,  and  of  which  his 

"  Ein  feste  Biirg  ist  unser  Gott," 


890  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

struck  the  key-note.  No  other  hymnology  in  the  world 
compares  with  it  in  its  ample  stores,  in  the  abundance  of 
its  productions,  and  in  its  exuberant  wealth  of  thought  and 
expression.  This  hymn,  born  of  the  great  era  of  the  Prot- 
estant Reformation,  marks,  also,  a  corresponding  era  in 
Christian  hymnology. 

Martin  Luther  was  the  son  of  John  and  Margaret 
Luther,  and  was  born  at  Eisleben,  November  10,  1483. 
The  next  year,  his  parents  removed  to  Mansfeld,  six  miles 
to  the  northwest.  His  father  was  a  mining  peasant,  and 
the  child  was  trained  among  the  humblest  classes.  At 
the  age  of  fourteen,  he  was  sent  to  the  Franciscan  school 
at  Magdeburg,  and  the  next  year  (1498)  to  the  Latin  school 
at  Eisenach.  In  July,  1501,  he  was  admitted  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Erfurt.  He  entered  the  Augustinian  monastery, 
in  July,  1505  ;  and.  May  2,  1507,  he  was  ordained  to  the 
priesthood.  In  the  autumn  of  1508,  he  was  appointed  Pro- 
fessor of  Philosophy  in  the  new  University  of  Wittenberg. 
He  visited  Rome  in  1510  ;  and,  in  1512,  took  the  degree  of 
D.D.  at  Erfurt.  In  April,  1516,  he  was  made  vicar  of  his 
order  in  Saxony  and  Thuringia,  and,  in  this  capacity,  visited 
extensively  the  various  cloisters  of  his  province.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1517,  he  came  in  collision  with  Tetzel,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Indulgences,  and  on  Saturday,  October  31st,  at  noon, 
posted,  on  the  door  of  the  Electoral  Church  at  Wittenberg, 
his  95  theses  against  the  practice.  Thus  "The  Reforma- 
tion "  began. 

Three  years  later,  December  10,  1520,  he  burned  the 
Pope's  bull,  and  so  defied  Rome.  Summoned  to  the  Diet 
at  Worms,  he  made  his  appearance  there,  April  17, 1521 ;  and 
on  his  return  was  seized.  May  4th,  and  concealed,  from  his 
foes,  in  the  Castle  of  Wartburg.  The  Pope,  Leo  X.,  died, 
December  1, 1521,  and  Luther  returned  to  Wittenberg,  March 
7,  1522.  He  abandoned  the  cloister  in  1524,  and  married, 
June  13,  1525,  Catharine  von  Bora.  In  April,  1529,  he 
joined  in  the  famous  "  Protest "  before  the  Diet  at  Spires  ; 
and,  April,  1530,  in  the  Protestant  Confession,  before  the 
Augsburg  Diet.    His  friends  had  now  become  so  numerous, 


HENRY  FRANCIS  LYTE.  391 

and  were  so  powerful,  as  to  deliver  Mm  from  all  fear  of 
Rome.  His  remaining  years  were  spent  at  Wittenberg  in 
safety  and  quiet,  devoted  to  the  furtherance  of  the  Refor- 
mation, by  his  numerous  writings,  and  from  the  pulpit. 
He  passed  away,  in  great  peace,  February  18, 1546,  in  the 
sixty-third  year  of  Ms  age. 


HENRY  FRANCIS  LYTE. 

1793-1847. 

Among  her  purest,  choicest,  and  most  gifted  lyric  poets, 
the  Church  of  Christ  will  ever  delight  to  number  Henry 
Francis  Lyte.  His  contributions  to  "  the  service  of  song  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord,"  and  in  the  domestic  sanctuary,  have 
been  numerous  and  excellent.  Could  he  have  known  how 
much  comfort  they  would  impart  to  the  people  of  God,  and 
how  much  inspiration  to  a  holy  life,  he  could  not  have 
written  as  he  did,  in  his  "  Declining  Days,"— 

"  'Tis  the  thought  that  I— 

My  lamp  so  low,  my  sun  so  nearly  set, 

Have  lived  so  useless,  so  unmissed  should  die:— 
'Tis  this  I  now  regret." 

It  was  not  in  vain  that  he  gave  expression  to  the  high  and 
holy  aspirations  of  his  gentle  and  humble  spirit,  in  the  fol- 
lowing beautiful  stanzas,  in  the  same  sweet  poem : 

"  Might  my  poor  lyre  but  give 
Some  simple  strain,  some  spirit-moving  lay, 

Some  sparklet  of  the  soul,  that  still  might  live 
When  I  was  passed  to  clay, — 

"  Might  verse  of  mine  inspire 
One  virtuous  aim,  one  high  resolve  impart, — 

Light  in  one  drooping  soul  a  hallowed  fire, 
Or  bind  one  broken  heart, — 


392  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

"  Death  would  be  sweeter  then, 
More  calm  my  slumber  'neath  the  silent  sod, 

Might  I  thus  live  to  bless  my  fellow-men, 
Or  glorify  my  God." 

Henry  Francis  Lyte,  thoiigli  of  English  parentage,  was 
bom,  June  1, 1793,  at  Ednam,  near  Kelso,  Scotland,  some- 
times called,  "The  Poet's  Corner  of  Roxburghshire."  His 
father,  Capt.  Thomas  Lyte,  was  an  army  officer,  and  died 
when  Henry  was  an  infant.  His  godly  mother,  as  he  him- 
self testifies,  trained  him  in  the  paths  of  holiness : 

"In  early  life  to  thee  I  was 
Consigned  by  solemn  vow." 

She,  too,  was  taken  from  him  at  an  early  age,  and  he  was 
left  with  very  limited  means  of  support.  Through  the 
kindness  of  friends,  he  was  sent,  at  nine  years  of  age,  to  a 
school  at  Protoro,  Ireland ;  and,  in  1812,  he  was  admitted 
to  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  A  scholarship,  obtained  the 
next  year,  and  the  instruction  of  a  few  puj^ils,  with  the  aid 
of  friends,  enabled  him  to  prosecute  his  college  course  with- 
out serious  embarrassment.  Thrice  he  won  the  prize  for 
the  best  English  poetry.     His  ode  "To  a  Field  Flower," — 

"Hail !  lovely  harbinger  of  Spring,"  etc., 

was  written,  April  27, 1812,  and  his  "  Sad  Thoughts,"— 

"Yes  !  I  am  calm,  am  humbled  now,"  etc., 

bears  date,  1815,  and  indicates  that  he  had  experienced  a 
bitter  disappointment  in  an  affair  of  the  heart. 

Abandoning  his  intention  to  study  medicine,  he  was  ad- 
mitted (1815)  to  orders  in  the  Episcopal  Church.  His  first 
Curacy,  "  dreary "  enough,  was  at  Taghinon,  in  Ireland. 
Called  by  a  neighboring  clergyman  to  counsel  him  in  pros- 
pect of  death,  for  which  he  found  himself  wholly  unpre- 
pared, Lyte  was  led  to  look  into  the  grounds  of  his  own 
hope,  and  was  convinced  that  his  heart  had  never  been  sav- 
ingly renewed.    Together  they  sought  and  found  the  Lord. 


HENEY  FRANCIS  LYTE.  393 

His  friend  died  in  great  peace,  and  lie  himself  lived  to  serve 
the  Lord  in  newness  of  spirit,  and  with  his  whole  heart,  as 
never  before. 

His  own  health  gave  way,  and  symptoms  of  consumption 
were  developed.  A  trip  to  the  Continent  brought  relief. 
On  his  return,  he  tried  the  air  of  Bristol,  and  served  in  two 
or  three  Curacies  successively.  In  1817,  he  received  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  lectureship  in  the  chapel  of  ease,  in  the 
maritime  town  of  Marazion,  just  in  front  of  the  romantic 
Mount  St.  Michael,  near  Penzance.  He  now  became  united 
in  marriage  to  Anne,  the  only  daughter  of  the  Rev.  W. 
Maxwell,  D.D.,  of  Bath.  Soon  after,  he  removed  to  Ly- 
mington.  Here  he  wrote  his  charming  "  Tales  on  the 
Lord's  Prayer,"  published  in  1826,  and  several  of  his  poetic 
effusions ;  among  the  latter, — 

"A  few  brief  moons  the  babe  who  slumbers  here,"  etc., 

on  the  occasion  of  the  burial  of  his  infant  child,  February, 
1821. 

He  next  served  as  Curate  of  Charlton,  Kingsbridge, 
whence  he  removed  to  Dittisham.  At  length  (1826)  he  was 
appointed  to  the  Perpetual  Curacy  of  the  District  Chapel 
of  Lower  Brixham,  and  here,  among  a  sea-faring  people 
having  but  little  refinement  and  education,  he  spent  his 
remaining  days,  faithfully  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  labor- 
ing for  their  good.  Several  of  his  hymns  were  written  for 
the  express  benefit  of  his  Sunday  and  day-schools. 

"Jesus  I  I  my  cross  have  taken,"  etc., 

was  written  not  later  than  1825,  and  probably  dates  back 
to  the  period  of  his  conversion.  It  was  reproduced  in  the 
Home  Missionary  Magazine,  for  1829,  in  six  double  stan- 
zas. In  1833,  he  gave  to  the  world  his  "  Poems,  chiefly  Re- 
ligious," and  the  following  year  his  "  Spirit  of  the  Psalms," 
mostly  original,  but  some  of  them  only  modifications  of 
older  versions.  Many  of  them  have  become  great  favorites. 
To  his  parochial  duties  he  added  the  work  of  teach- 
ing.    In  1827,  two  liberated  African  youths  were  com- 


394  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

mitted  to  Ms  care,  to  be  trained  as  sclioolmasters  and 
catecliists  for  Sierra  Leone.  Possessed  of  an  extensive 
library,  to  whicli  lie  was  continually  maldng  valuable  ac- 
cessions, he  devoted  mucli  time  to  theological  research. 
At  length  his  health  failed,  and  he  was  compelled,  in  1842, 
to  seek  its  restoration  by  travel  on  the  Continent.  Again, 
in  October,  1844,  he  was  driven  to  Italy,  where  he  spent  the 
winter  and  following  year ;  writing  there  his  "  Longings 
for  Home,"  his  "  Thoughts  in  Weakness,"  and  his  "  Czar 
in  Rome."  In  1846,  he  returned  to  England,  and  published 
the  "  Poems  of  Henry  Vaughan,"  to  which  he  prefixed  a 
"  Memoir."  The  next  winter  was  also  spent  in  Italy,  the 
spring  of  1847  bringing  him  back  to  England,  greatly  de- 
bilitated. He  preached,  after  long  silence,  to  his  beloved 
people,  September  4,  1847,  and  administered  the  Lord's 
Supper.  The  same  evening,  he  placed  in  the  hands  of  a 
very  dear  relative,  with  an  air  of  his  own  composing,  that 
precious  relic  of  his  last  days  on  earth,  the  sweet  hymn, — 

"Abide  with  me  ;  fast  faUs  the  eventide,"  etc. 

A  few  weeks  after,  on  his  way  to  Rome,  he  died  at  Nice, 
November  20, 1847,  in  his  fifty-fourth  year.  His  remains 
were  buried  there,  in  the  English  cemetery. 

In  January,  1850,  "  The  Remains  of  the  late  Rev.  Henry 
Francis  Lyte,  A.M.,  Incumbent  of  Lower  Brixham,  Devon- 
shire ;  consisting  of  hitherto  unpublished  poems,  a  few 
Sermons,  etc.  With  a  brief  Prefatory  Memoir,"  appeared 
from  the  press  of  the  Rivingtons.  A  volume  was  issued  by 
T.  &  A.  Constable,  Edinburgh,  1868,  containing  the  "  Mis- 
cellaneous Poems,"  taken  from  this  publication,  and  the 
"Poems,  chiefly  Religious."  The  following  stanzas  are 
taken  from  his  poem  on  "Evening": 

"  Sweet  evening  hour !  sweet  evening  hour ! 
That  calms  the  air,  and  shuts  the  flower;      t 
That  brings  the  wild  bird  to  her  nest, 
The  infant  to  its  mother's  breast. 

"  Yes,  lovely  hour  I  thou  art  the  time 
When  feelings  flow,  and  wishes  climb; 


ROBERT  STEPHENS  McALL.  395 

When  timid  souls  begin  to  dare, 
And  Grod  receives  and  answers  prayer. 

"  Who  has  not  felt,  that  evening's  hour 
Draws  forth  devotion's  tenderest  power, — 
That  guardian  spu'its  round  us  stand, 
And  God  himself  seems  most  at  hand  ? 

"Let  others  hail  the  rising  day; 
I  praise  it  Avhen  it  fades  away, — 
When  life  assumes  a  higher  tone. 
And  God  and  heaven  ai-e  all  my  own." 


ROBEET  STEPHENS  McALL. 
1792-1838. 

The  Rev.  Robert  Stephens  McAll,  LL.D.,  was  one  of 
the  most  gifted  and  eloquent  of  the  Dissenting  ministry  of 
England,  in  the  early  part  of  this  century.  He  was  born 
at  Plymouth,  August  4, 1792,  and  was  the  eldest  son  of  the 
Rev.  Robert  McAll,  a  minister  in  Lady  Huntingdon's  Con- 
nection. Soon  after  the  birth  of  his  son,  Mr.  McAU  re- 
moved to  Gloucester,  and  continued  there  several  years ; 
after  which  he  became  a  resident  of  St.  Ives,  Cornwall; 
and  in  1813,  he  took  charge  of  Zion  Chapel,  London. 

Robert  obtained  the  rudiments  of  education  at  Glouces- 
ter, and  the  higher  branches  of  learning  at  Penzance,  Fal- 
mouth, and  Redruth ;  always  taking  a  stand  for  proficiency 
far  above  his  years.  In  1806,  he  studied  at  Axminster 
Academy;  in  1807,  having  become  a  member  of  his  father's 
church,  he  studied  at  Harwich;  and,  in  1808,  at  Hoxton 
Academy.  A  part  of  the  following  year  was  spent  with 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  Bengo  CoUyer,  at  Blackheath  HOI,  near 
London.  Shortly  after,  he  entered  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, where  he  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  the  study  of 


396  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

medicine.  He  completed  his  literary  and  medical  course 
in  1813,  having  greatly  distinguished  himself  in  all  his 
academical  pursuits. 

Soon  after  his  graduation,  he  accepted  (1815)  a  call  to 
the  chaplaincy  of  a  congregation,  worshiping  in  the  Sun- 
day-School rooms  of  Macclesfield,  Cheshire.  He  married  the 
youngest  sister  of  John  Whitaker,  the  principal  found- 
er of  the  mission.  Great  crowds  were  attracted  by  the 
eloquence  of  the  youthful  preacher  ;  and,  in  1823,  he  was 
ordained  to  the  ministry.  The  next  year,  St.  George's 
Chapel,  a  commodious  edifice,  was  erected  for  the  use  of 
the  congregation.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  accepted  a 
call  from  the  congregation  at  Mosley  Street  Chapel,  Man- 
chester, and  began  his  ministry  there  the  first  Sabbath  of 
January,  1827.  Here,  too,  he  attracted  the  multitude,  and 
speedily  acquired  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most 
powerful  and  accomplished  preachers  among  the  Independ- 
ents,— maintaining  this  high  position  to  the  last.  The 
honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the 
University  of  Edinburgh. 

In  1836,  his  health  began  to  decline  ;  and,  early  in  1838, 
his  disease  assumed  a  threatening  aspect,  compelling  him 
to  suspend  his  labors,  and  seek  relief  by  change  of  air.  A 
beloved  daughter  was  taken  from  him  by  death,  and  the 
shock  unfavorably  affected  his  own  case.  At  the  home 
of  his  attached  friend,  James  Knight  Heron,  Swinton 
Park,  near  Manchester,  he  passed  the  few  last  weeks  of  his 
life,  and,  full  of  peace  and  hope,  quietly  departed,  July  27, 
1838,  in  his  forty-sixth  year. 

In  1840,  appeared  his  "  Discourses  on  Special  Occasions ; 
with  a  Sketch  of  his  Life  and  Character,"  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Ralph  Ward]  aw  ;  foUowed,  in  1842,  by  "  Four  Addi^esses  to 
the  Young,"  and,  in  1843,  by  a  volume  of  "Sermons, 
preached  chiefly  at  Manchester."  He  contributed  eight 
hymns,  written  in  his  youth,  to  the  Collection  of  Hymns, 
compiled,  and  published  in  1812,  by  his  greatly  attached 
friend.  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  B.  CoUyer.  The  following  is  the 
fourth  of  these  hymns  : 


KOBEET  MURRAY  McCHEYNE.  397 

"  Why  should  the  Christian  waste  in  sighs 
The  breath  which  God  hath  given, 
Whom  every  passing  hour  that  flies 
Bears  onward  fast  to  heaven? 

"  Why  should  he  wish  for  perfect  bliss, 
In  this  dark  world  forlorn? 
Or  seek,  amidst  the  wilderness, 
A  rose  without  a  thorn? 

"  Why  should  he  grieve  and  mourn  to  see 
The  wicked  prosper  now? 
Their  joys  are  present  all,  but  he 
Has  all  his  griefs  below. 

"  But  let  them  triumj)h  in  then  choice 
And  think  his  prospects  vain, 
The  day  of  death,  which  blasts  their  joys, 
Shall  terminate  his  pain. 

"  Our  Father  God !  be  ours  the  grief 
Which  to  thy  sons  belongs ; 
And  let  us  share  in  their  relief, — 
Their  everlasting  songs." 


ROBERT  MURRAY  McCHEYNE. 

1813-1843. 

A  career  of  surpassing  loveliness,  cut  short  by  disease 
and  death,  is  presented  in  the  Memoir  of  Robert  Murray 
McCheyne,  by  his  devoted  friend  and  admirer,  the  Rev. 
Andrew  A.  Bonar.  McCheyne  was  a  native  of  Edinburgh, 
Scotland,  and  was  the  youngest  child  of  Adam  McCheyne. 
He  was  born.  May  21, 1813  ;  and,  in  October,  1821,  entered 
the  High  School  of  Edinburgh,  where  he  continued  six 
years.  In  1827,  he  wrote  a  short  poem,  "  Greece,  but 
living  Greece  no  more."  He  entered  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  November,  1827,  and  distinguished  himself  in 


398  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

all  his  classes,  gaining,  also,  tlie  prize  in  the  Moral  Philoso- 
phy Class  for  a  poem,  "  On  the  Covenanters." 

The  decease  of  his  elder  brother,  David,  in  July,  1831, 
led  him  "  to  seek  a  Brother  who  can  not  die,"  and  deter- 
mined him  to  study  for  the  ministry.  In  the  winter  of 
1831,  he  entered  the  Divinity  Hall,  and  came  under  the  in- 
struction of  the  Rev.  Drs.  Chalmers  and  Welsh.  During 
his  divinity  course,  lie  not  only  applied  himself  most  dili- 
gently to  his  studies,  but  sought,  in  all  possible  ways,  to 
cultivate  his  own  piety,  and  to  do  good  to  the  souls  of  the 
perishing.  Music  and  poetry  were  his  recreation  and 
delight. 

He  was  licensed  to  preach,  July  1, 1835,  by  the  Presby- 
tery of  Annan,  and  in  November  became  the  Assistant  of 
the  Rev.  John  Bonar,  pastor  of  Larbert  and  Dunipace,  near 
Stirling.  In  August,  1836,  he  was  called  to  the  pastorate 
of  the  new  Presbyterian  Church,  St.  Peter's,  Dundee,  and 
was  ordained,  November  24, 1836.  His  preaching  imme- 
diately arrested  attention,  and  soon  drew  crowds  to  hear 
him.  He  became  exceedingly  popular,  and  calls  from  other 
churches  were  multiplied.  But  he  declined  them  all,  and 
continued  steadfast  in  his  work  and  abundant  in  labors, 
until  he  was  compelled,  by  symptoms  of  alarming  disease, 
at  the  close  of  1838,  to  desist  for  a  season,  spending  the 
ensuing  winter  at  Edinburgh. 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Candlish,  the  General 
Assembly's  Committee  for  the  Conversion  of  the  Jews  de- 
termined to  send  a  Deputation,  on  a  Mission  of  Inquiry,  to 
Palestine  and  other  eastern  countries.  McCheyne  and  his 
friend.  Rev,  Andrew  A.  Bonar,  were  associated  with  the 
Rev.  Drs.  Black  and  Keith.  They  left  their  native  land 
early  in  April,  1839,  and  returned  home  in  the  following 
November.  McCheyne  immediately  resumed  his  parochial 
work,  with  health  improved,  but  not  fully  restored.  Con- 
jointly with  Bonar,  he  published  (May,  1842)  the  "  Narra- 
tive of  a  Mission  of  Inquiry  to  the  Jews,"  a  third  edition 
of  which  was  issued  in  1843.  His  health  again  began  to 
fail  in  the  summer  of  1842,  and  continued  feeble  through  the 


EGBERT  MURRAY  McCHEYNE.  399 

following  winter  ;  and  in  March,  1843,  he  was  seized  with 
typhus  fever,  that  resulted  in  his  death,  March  25,  1843. 
He  had  not  completed  his  thirtieth  year. 

Short  as  had  been  his  life,  the  fruits  of  his  ministry  were 
abundant.  A  large  number  of  souls  had  been  gathered 
into  the  communion  of  his  own  church  ;  and  numbers  else- 
where, in  Scotland  and  England,  whither  he  had  gone 
preaching  the  Word,  acknowledged  him  as  their  spiritual 
father.  His  "  Life  and  Remains  "  were  published  in  1844, 
by  Rev.  Andrew  A,  Bonar,  and  seventeen  editions  were  sold 
in  three  years  ;  in  twenty- two  years,  80,000  copies  had  been 
called  for  in  Great  Britain  alone. 

The  hymn  beginning 

"  I  once  was  a  stranger  to  grace  and  to  God," 

is  thus  spoken  of  in  his  Memoir:  "Mr.  McCheyne  was 
peculiarly  subject  to  attacks  of  fever,  and  by  one  of  these 
was  he  laid  down  on  a  sick-bed  on  November  15th  [1834]. 
However,  this  attack  was  of  short  duration.  On  the  21st, 
he  writes — '  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !  and  forget  not  all 
his  benefits.  Learned  more  and  more  of  the  value  of 
Jelio'GaJi  TzidTcenu.^  He  had,  three  days  before,  written 
his  well-known  hymn, 

'  I  once  was  a  stranger,'  etc., 

entitled,  '  Jehovah  Tzidkenu,  the  Watchword  of  the  Re- 
formers.' It  was  the  fruit  of  a  slight  illness  which  had 
tried  his  soul,  by  setting  it  more  immediately  in  view  of 
the  judgment  seat  of  Christ ;  and  the  hymn,  which  he  so 
sweetly  sung,  reveals  the  sure  and  solid  confidence  of  his 
soul,"    The  hymn  has  seven  stanzas,  in  the  original. 

McCheyne  was  accustomed  to  pour  forth  his  emotions  in 
verse,  and  has  left  a  considerable  number  of  these  pious 
effusioiis  behind  him.  Fourteen  of  them  are  published  in 
his  " Remains,"  as  "Songs  of  Zion."  The  following  was 
written,  at  the  "  Foot  of  Carmel,  June,  1839  ": 

"  Beneath  Moriah's  rocky  side, 
A  gentle  fountain  springs, 


400  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Silent  and  soft  its  waters  glide, 
Like  the  peace  the  Spirit  brings. 

"  The  thirsty  Arab  stoops  to  drink 
Of  the  cool  and  quiet  wave, 
And  the  thirsty  spirit  stops  to  think 
Of  Him  who  came  to  save. 

^  "  Siloam  is  the  fountain's  name, 

It  means  '  one  sent  from  God ' ; — 
And  thus  the  holy  Saviour's  fame 
It  gently  spreads  abroad. 

"Oh!  grant  that  I,  like  this  sweet  well, 
May  Jesus'  image  bear, 
And  spend  my  life,  my  all,  to  tell 
How  full  his  mercies  are." 


MARGARET  MACKAY. 

Tlie  Christian  world  is  indebted  to  a  tombstone  in  Dev- 
onsbire,  England,  for  tbe  suggestion  tbat  led  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  sweet  and  soothing  hymn  beginning 

*'  Asleep  in  Jesus!  blessed  sleep." 

It  was  written  by  Mrs.  Margaret  Mackay,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  quiet  scene  which  she  thus  describes : 

"'sleeping  est  JESUS.' 

"  This  simple  inscription  is  carved  on  a  tombstone  in  the 
retired  rural  burying-ground  of  Pennycross  Chapel,  in 
Devonshire.  Distant  only  a  few  miles  from  a  bustling  and 
crowded  seaport  town  [Plymouth],  reached  through  a  suc- 
cession of  those  lovely  green  lanes  for  which  Devolishire  is 
so  remarkable,  the  quiet  aspect  of  Pennycross  comes  sooth- 
ingly over  the  mind.  '  Sleeping  in  Jesus '  seems  in  keeping 
with  all  around." 

The  hymn  was  contributed  to  "  The  Amethyst ;  or  Chris- 


JUDITH  [COWPER]  MADAN.  401 

tian's  Annual  for  1832.  Edited  by  Ricliard  Hine,  M.D., 
and  Robert  Kaye  GreviUe,  LL.D.,"  and  published  by  "  Oli- 
phant,  Edinburgh." 

Very  few  particulars  of  Mrs.  Mackay's  life  have  been 
obtained.  Her  father,  Captain  Robert  Mackay,  on  his 
retirement  from  active  service,  settled  at  Hedgefield,  Scot- 
land. She  was  married  to  Major  WHliam  Mackay,  of  the 
British  Army,  in  1820.  In  addition  to  her  occasional  con- 
tributions to  periodicals,  she  published :  "  The  Family  at 
Heatherdale"  (3d  ed.,  1854);  "Sabbath  Musings"  (1844); 
"The  Wycliffites,  or  England  in  the  Fifteenth  Century" 
(1846) ;  "  Thoughts  Redeemed,  or  Lays  of  Leisure  Hours  " 
(1854) ;  and  "  False  Appearances,  a  Tale  "  (1859).  The  fol- 
lowing stanzas  are  from  her  hymn,  "To  the  Holy  Spirit": 

"  Glorious  Spirit!  from  on  high, 
Sent  to  show  a  Saviour  nigh, 
In  the  darkest  houi*s  of  night 
Cheer  me  with  thy  quenchless  light. 

"  By  thy  holy  oflfice  led. 
Testify  of  him  who  bled ; 
Testify  how  Jesus  slain, 
Rose,  revived,  and  reigns  again. 

"  Turn  the  sinner  from  his  sin ; 
Teach  him  how  the  crown  to  win ; 
Bring  him  to  Immanuel's  feet ; 
Lead  him  to  the  mercy  seat. 

"  Bid  him  hear  the  Shepherd's  voice. 
Think  of  Jesus  and  rejoice ; 
Daily,  though  earth's  woes  increase, 
Thou  canst  sweetly  whisper  peace." 


JUDITH  [COWPER]  MABAIS". 

Mes.  Madan  was  of  a  distinguished  family.     She  was 
the  daughter  of  Spencer  Cowpe^,  Judge  of  the  Common 
26 


402  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Pleas,  who  was  the  second  son  of  Sir  William  Cowper, 
Bart.,  and  the  brother  of  William,  the  first  Earl  Cowper, 
Lord  Chancellor  of  Great  Britain.  She  had  three  brothers 
— William,  John,  and  Ashley :  William  was  the  Clerk  of 
the  House  of  Lords ;  John  was  the  Rev.  John  Cowper, 
D.D.,  and  the  father  of  William  Cowper,  the  poet;  Ash- 
ley's daughter  was  the  wife  of  Sir  Robert  Hesketh,  Bart., 
— the  "  Lady  Hesketh  "  with  whom  her  cousin,  the  poet, 
corresponded  so  frequently.  The  daughter  of  Mrs.  Madan 
was  married  to  Major  William  Cowper,  her  cousin,  the  son 
of  William,  and  was  the  "  Mrs.  Cowper  "  of  the  poet's  circle 
of  friends.  A  sister  of  Mrs.  Madan  was  married  to  Chief- 
Justice  William  de  Gray,  who,  in  1780,  was  created  Lord 
Walsingham. 

Judith  Cowper  very  early  became  distinguished  for  her 
literary  proficiency.  She  excelled  particularly  in  poetry, 
and  frequently  indulged  in  the  graceful  art.  Her  "  Prog- 
ress of  Poetry,"  published  in  1783,  is  no  mean  specimen  of 
poetic  ability.  She  was  married  (probably  about  1725)  to 
Col.  Martin  Madan.  One  of  her  sons,  the  Rev.  Martin  Ma- 
dan, of  London,  is  noticed  below.  Another  son,  Spencer, 
became,  successively.  Bishop  of  Bristol,  and  Bishop  of  Pe- 
terborough. 

The  hymn  beginning 

"In  this  world  of  sin  and  sorrow," 

appeared  in  the  second  edition  (1763)  of  her  son  Martin's 
Collection.    It  is  there  entitled,  "  A  Funeral  Hymn." 


MARTIN  MADAN. 

1726-1790. 

Martttst  Madatt  was  born  in  1726,  and  was  the  eldest 
son  of  Col.  Martin  Madan,  of  the  Guards,  and  Judith  Cow- 


MARTIN  MADAN.  403 

per  (see  the  preceding  sketcli).  He  was  trained  for  the  law, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of 
his  profession  with  the  fairest  prospects.  At  this  time,  he 
had  but  little  respect  for  religion  and  its  ministers.  Being 
in  company  one  evening,  at  a  coffee-house  in  London,  he 
was  commissioned  by  his  gay  associates  to  go  and  hear 
John  Wesley,  and  to  report  to  them,  for  their  sport,  an 
account  of  the  man,  his  manner,  and  his  discourse.  As  he 
entered  the  assembly,  Wesley  was  announcing  as  his  text, 
— "  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God  !  "  He  was  deeply  impressed 
at  once,  and  much  more  as  the  preacher  proceeded  with  his 
discourse.  He  returned  to  the  coffee-house,  and  was  prompt- 
ly asked,  ' '  Have  you  taken  off  the  old  Methodist  ?  "  He  re- 
plied,—" No,  gentlemen,  but  he  has  taken  me  off."  He  for- 
sook them  at  once,  abandoned  his  old  pursuits  of  worldly 
pleasure,  and  eagerly  sought  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 

Madan  had  married  a  daughter  of  Sir  Bernard  Hale, 
Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer  in  Ireland,  and  his  mother- 
in-law  was  on  familiar  terms  wdth  Lady  Huntingdon,  to 
whom  he  was  speedily  introduced.  He  was  thus  brought 
under  the  influence  of  that  choice  circle  of  godly  ministers 
and  others,  of  which  she  was  the  centre.  Classically  edu- 
cated, and  highly  gifted  as  a  speaker,  he  ardently  sought 
to  serve  God  in  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  This  was  in 
the  summer  of  1750.  With  some  difficulty  he  obtained  or- 
dination. His  eloquence  drew  the  attention  of  the  popu- 
lace, and  crowds  flocked  to  hear  him.  He  "  was  rather  tall 
in  stature,  and  of  a  robust  constitution ;  his  countenance 
was  majestic,  open,  and  engaging,  and  his  looks  command- 
ing veneration  :  his  delivery  is  said  to  have  been  peculiarly 
graceful.  He  preached  without  notes  ;  his  voice  was  mu 
sical,  well-modulated,  full,  and  powerful;  his  language, 
plain,  nervous,  pleasing,  and  memorable ;  and  his  argu- 
ments strong,  bold,  rational,  and  conclusive." 

Madan  was  appointed  to  the  Chaplaincy  of  the  Lock  Hos- 
pital, London,  and,  by  his  interest  among  the  wealthy, 
procured  the  erection  of  a  chapel  adjacent  to  the  hospital, 
where  he  continued  to  exercise  his  ministry  to  the  end  of 


404  THE  POETS  OP  THE  CHURCH. 

life.  By  reason  of  Ms  higli  social  position,  lie  was,  also, 
appointed  the  Chaplain  of  Lord  Apsley,  afterwards  Earl 
Bathurst,  Lord  High  Chancellor.  His  services  were  in 
great  demand  everywhere  throughout  the  kingdom, 
among  the  adherents  of  Lady  Huntingdon  and  her  chosen 
preachers.  His  cousin,  William  Cowj^er,  the  poet,  in  a  let- 
ter to  Madan's  sister,  Mrs.  Major  Co^\T)er,  acknowledges 
(1763)  his  obligations  to  him  for  counsel  in  his  spiritual 
troubles. 

Madan  was  passionately  devoted  to  music,  and  took  great 
interest  in  hymnology.  His  "Collection  of  Psalms  and 
Hymns  "  (1760),  was  well  received,  and  was  frequently  re- 
published.   In  this  Collection  is  found  the  favorite  hymn, 

"Now  begin  the  heavenly  theme,"  etc. 

It  is  of  uncertain  origin,  and  it  can  not  be  traced  farther. 
The  authors'  names  are  given  to  none  of  the  hymns,  and  it 
is  quite  probable  that  some  of  them  were  composed  by 
himself.  At  all  events,  he  took  such  liberties  with  the 
material  in  his  possession,  adding,  abridging,  and  rearrang- 
ing, as  well  as  modifying,  in  many  cases,  that  the  result, 
in  some  instances,  was  an  essentially  new  hymn.  He  issued, 
also,  a  Tune  Book,  containing  "  the  Music  of  the  Hymns," 
commonly  known  as  "The  Lock  Hospital  Collection." 
Many  of  the  tunes — Bristol,  Castle  Street,  Denbigh,  Halifax, 
Helmsley,  Hotham,  Huddersfield,  Kingston,  Leeds,  Nant- 
wich,  and  others — were  his  own  composition.  His  passion 
for  music  became  a  snare  to  him,  causing  him,  at  length, 
to  give  more  attention  to  it  than  to  the  preaching  of  the 
word.  Oratorios  were  frequently  performed,  on  Sunday 
evenings,  in  his  chapel ;  and  to  such  an  extent  did  he  carry 
the  practice  of  Sunday  concerts,  vocal  and  instrumental,  as 
to  give  great  offence  to  the  godly.  It  is  to  him  that  his 
cousin,  William  Cowper,  in  his  "  Progress  of  Error,"  writ- 
ten in  the  Avinter  of  1780-1781,  refers  when  he  uses  the 
following  language : 

"Occiduus  is  a  pastor  of  renown; 
When  he  has  prayed  and  preached  the  Sabbath  down, 


RICHAKD  MANT.  405 

With  wire  and  catgxit  lie  concludes  the  day, 

Quavering  and  semiquavering  care  away. 

The  iuil  concerto  swells  upon  your  ear ; 

All  elbows  shake.     Look  in,  and  you  would  swear 

The  Babylonian  tyrant,  with  a  nod, 

Had  summoned  them  to  serve  his  golden  god." 

As  chaplain  of  tlie  Lock  Hospital,  the  condition  of  its 
patients  had  long  excited  his  attention,  and  led,  finally,  to 
the  publication  (1780)  of  Ms  "  Thelypthora,"— a  book  that 
gave  rise  to  much  controversy.  He  occupied  much  of  his 
time,  the  next  few  years,  in  the  study  of  the  Latin  classics  ; 
and,  in  1789,  he  published  "A  New  and  Literal  Translation 
of  Juvenal  and  Persius ;  with  Copious  Explanatory  Notes, 
in  two  volumes."  He  departed  this  life,  in  1790,  in  his 
sixty-fifth  year. 


RICHARD  MANT. 

1776-1848. 

To  Southampton,  England,  the  home  of  Isaac  Watts,  and 
the  birthplace  of  English  hymnology,  the  church  is  in- 
debted also  for  Richard  Mant,  another  sweet  singer  in 
Israel.  He  was  of  a  good  family.  His  maternal  grand- 
father was  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bingham,  the  eminent  antiqua- 
rian, and  erudite  author  of  the  "  Origines  Ecclesiasticse, 
or  The  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church  "—found  in 
almost  every  theological  library  of  any  extent.  His  father, 
Richard  Mant,  D.D.,  of  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  was  the 
Rector  of  All  Saints'  Church,  Southampton,  and  was,  also, 
a  respectable  author.  Of  his  great  excellency  his  son  bore 
efficient  witness  in  one  of  his  early  poems : 

"  Thou  gavest  me  beuig;  sweeter  far  than  this, 
Thou  gavest  me  that  which  makes  my  being  bliss: 
Thou  didst  to  holy  thoughts  my  bosom  warm. 
Thou  didst  my  tongue  to  holy  accents  form, 


406  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUKCH. 

And  teach,  in  dawning  reason's  infant  days, 

To  lisp  the  voice  of  prayer,  and  thanks,  and  praise." 

The  son  was  bom,  February  12, 1776,  and  trained  in  tlie 
grammar-scliool  of  which,  his  father  was  the  master,  until, 
at  the  proper  age,  he  was  sent  (1789)  to  the  famous  Win- 
chester School,  and  thoroughly  fitted  for  college.  He  en- 
tered Trinity  College,  Oxford,  in  1793,  and  graduated,  B.  A., 
1797,  and  M.A.,  1801.  In  1798,  he  obtained  a  fellowship 
in  Oriel  College,  and  won,  in  1799,  the  Chancellor's  prize 
for  the  best  English  Essay.  He  was  ordained  deacon,  in 
1802,  by  Bishop  Brownlow  North,  at  Winchester,  and  began 
his  ministry  as  his  father's  Curate.  The  same  year  he  be- 
gan his  successful  career  as  an  author,  by  editing  the  poet- 
ical works  of  Thomas  Warton,  the  poet-laureate,  and  by 
the  publication  of  a  poetic  tribute  to  Joseph  Warton, — the 
familiar  friends  of  his  revered  father. 

A  continental  tour  followed;  and,  on  his  return,  he  was 
ordained  priest  by  Dr.  Randolph,  Bishop  of  Oxford,  and 
accepted  the  Curacy  of  Buriton.  He  took  also  a  few  pupils, 
and,  having  a  small  charge,  found  time  for  much  literary 
work.  In  1804,  he  published,  in  verse,  "  The  Country  Cu- 
rate," and,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Woods,  on  which  occasion  he  addressed  her  in  a  poem,  giv- 
ing the  reasons  of  his  choice.  The  consequent  loss  of  his 
fellowship  drew  from  him  his  "Farewell  to  Oxford."  The 
same  year  he  prepared,  for  the  Christian  Knowledge  Soci- 
ety, "A  Familiar  and  Easy  Guide  to  the  Church  Cate- 
chism." Two  years  later  (1806),  he  published  his  "  Poems, 
in  three  Parts,"  and  the  year  following,  a  volume  of  "  Eight 
Lectures  on  the  Occurrences  of  the  Passion  Week";  also, 
"  The  Slave  and  other  Poems." 

In  1809,  he  became  the  Curate  of  Mr.  Legge  at  Crawley, 
and  there  wrote  his  ''Puritanism  Revived,  in  a  Series  of 
Letters  from  a  Curate  to  his  Rector."  At  the  close  of  the 
same  year,  he  again  became  his  father's  Curate.  Early  in 
1810,  he  was  preferred  to  the  Vicarage  of  Coggeshall,  Es- 
sex,— the  old  charge  of  that  famous  Puritan,  Dr.  John  Owen^ 


RICHARD  MANT.  407 

and  stiU  abounding  in  adherents  to  Ms  faith.  It  was  this 
fact,  most  probably,  that  determined  him,  when  appointed 
(1812)  to  deliver  at  Oxford  the  Bampton  Lectures  for  that 
year,  to  take  for  his  theme,  "An  Appeal  to  the  Gospel ; 
or.  An  Inquiry  into  the  Justice  of  the  Charge,  alleged  by 
Methodists  and  other  Objectors,  that  the  Gospel  is  not 
Preached  by  the  National  Clergy,"-a  production  severely 
criticised  by  the  Cliristian  OhserDer,  and  several  divines  of 
the  Church  of  England.  Three  volumes  of  "  Sermons  for 
Parochial  and  Domestic  Use"  (1813-1815)  followed.  He 
became,  in  1813,  the  domestic  chaplain  of  Dr.  Charles  Man- 
ners Sutton,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and,  m  1816, 
was  preferred  to  the  handsome  living  of  St.  Botolph,  Bish- 
opsgate,  London,  to  which  was  added,  in  1818,  the  Rectory 

of  East  Horsley.  . 

While  a  resident  of  the  metropolis,  he  was  employed,  m 
concert  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  George  D'Oyly,  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Archbishop,  by  the  "  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge,"  in  preparing  and  publishing  (1814) 
a  Family  Bible  with  notes,  partly  original,  and  partly  se- 
lected, principally  from  the  soundest  divines  of  the  Church 
of  England  and  Ireland,  in  3  vols.  "  Seven  Academical 
Sei-mons"  came  forth  in  1816,  and  "  The  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  Selected  with  Notes,"  in  1820.  He  was  elevated  to 
the  See  of  Killaloe  and  Kilfenora  in  1820,  and  transferred, 
in  1823,  to  the  See  of  Down  and  Connor,  to  which,  m  1842, 
the  See  of  Dromore  was  added,— all  in  Ireland. 

Early  in  1824,  he  published  "  The  Book  of  Psalms,  m  an 
English  Metrical  Version,  founded  on  the  Basis  of  the  Au- 
thorized Bible  Translation,  and  compared  with  the  Original 
Hebrew;  with  Notes  Critical  and  Illustrative."  A  valuable 
"Introduction"  precedes  the  Version.  The  work  must 
have  cost  him  much  time  and  labor.  It  contains  some  ex- 
ceUent  versification,  but,  for  popular  use,  falls  far  behind 
the  Paraphrases  and  "  Imitations  "  of  his  townsman  Watts. 
The  "  Notes  "  exhibit  much  scholarship,  but  the  work  has 
had  a  very  limited  circulation.  "  Biographical  Notices  of 
the  Apostles,  Evangelists,  and  other  Saints,"  followed,  m 


408  THE  POETS. OF  THE  CHUECH. 

1828,  witli  original  Hymns  appended  to  the  several  chap- 
ters. "  The  Clergyman's  Obligations  considered"  came  out 
in  1830 ;  "  The  Gospel  Miracles,  in  a  Series  of  Poetical 
Sketches,"  in  1832 ;  "  Scriptural  Narratives  of  Passages  in 
our  Blessed  Lord's  Life  and  Ministry,"  with  Hymns,  and 
"  The  Happiness  of  the  Blessed," — also,  with  Sonnets,  in 
1833, — the  last,  a  most  popular  work ;  "  The  British  Months, 
a  Poem,  in  12  Parts,"  2  vols.,  in  1835;  "Ancient  Hymns, 
from  the  Roman  Breviary,  with  Original  Hymns,"  in  1887, 
some  of  them  very  beautiful ;  and  "  The  Church  and  her 
Ministrations,  in  a  Series  of  Discourses,"  in  1838.  His  two 
volumes  of  "  The  History  of  the  Church  of  Ireland,"  a  val- 
uable work,  appeared  in  1839,  1841 ;  and  his  "  Primitive 
Christianity  Exemplified  and  Hlustrated  by  the  Acts  of 
Primitive  Christians,"  followed  in  1842.  "  Horse  Ecclesias- 
ticse,  the  Position  of  the  Church  with  regard  to  Romish 
Error,"  he  published  in  1845  ;  "  Religio  Quotidiana ;  Daily 
Prayer  the  Law  of  God's  Church,  and  heretofore  the  Prac- 
tice of  Churchmen,"  in  1846  ;  and  "  Ferise  Anniversarise ; 
Observance  of  the  Church's  Holy  Days  no  Symptom  of  Po- 
pery," two  volumes,  in  1847.  He  died,  at  home,  November 
2, 1848. 

Few  men  have  more  industriously,  and  usefully,  labored 
in  literary  productions.  A  complete  list  of  his  "  Works  " 
occupies  nearly  four  columns  of  the  January  Number  of 
the  Gentleman^ s  Magazine,  for  1849.  Some  of  his  Poetry 
is  of  a  high  order.  The  following  is  on  "  The  Death  of  the 
Righteous": 


•■b 


"  WoTildst  thou  the  Christian's  death  triumphant  die  ? 
Live  thou  the  Christian's  life. — To  fight  the  fight 
Of  God,  suj)ported  by  the  Spirit's  might, 

And,  in  the  Saviour's  name,  to  fix  the  eye 

Fast  on  the  prize,  and  strive  for  mastery; — 

To  keej)  the  faith's  rich  jewel,  whole  and  bright; — 
Such  aim  accomplished  was  the  heart's  delight 

Of  dying  Paul :  such  aim  be  thine  to  try ; 

So  move  thou  duly  on  to  reach  the  goal ; 
So  may  God's  Spirit  with  thine  own  attest 


JOHN  MAEKIOTT.  409 

Thy  heavenly  sonship,  and  his  peace  control 

Earth's  anxious  thoughts.— So,  meet  to  joia  the  blessed, 

His  gentle  breath  shed  comfort  on  thy  soul, 
The  pledge  and  earnest  of  eternal  rest." 


JOHN  MARRIOTT. 

1780-1825. 

The  Rev.  John^  Maeriott  was  the  youngest  son  of  the 
Rev.  R.  Marriott,  D.D.,  the  patron  and  incumbent  of  the 
living  of  Cottesbach,  near  Lutterworth,  England.  There 
the  son  was  born,  in  1780,  and  obtained  his  early  training. 
At  Rugby,  he  was  fitted  for  college ;  and,  in  1798,  he  en- 
tered Christ  Church  College,  Oxford,  graduating  with  hon- 
ors, in  1802.  He  took  orders,  in  1803,  and  served  in  several 
Curacies. 

He  obtained,  and  held  for  some  years,  the  position  of 
Domestic  Chaplain  to  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  and  Tutor 
of  his  children.  At  the  instance  of  the  Duke,  he  was  pre- 
sented to  the  living  of  Church  Lawford,  near  Rugby,  War- 
wickshire. He  published  a  volume  of  his  Sermons  in  1818. 
The  illness  of  his  wife  drove  him  from  Warwickshire,  and 
he  obtained  a  Curacy  at  Broad  Clyst,  near  Exeter,  Devon- 
shire. Here,  March  31, 1825,  he  ended  his  earthly  course. 
A  volume  of  his  "  Sermons "  was  published  (1838)  by  his 
sons.  "They  are  what  sermons  should  be,"  "plain  and 
practical,"  "eloquent  and  touching,"  and  "speak  to  the 
heart."  The  only  extant  specimen  of  his  poetry  is  the 
hymn  beginning 

"  Thou!  whose  almighty  word." 

It  was  written  in  1813,  and  was  contributed  by  his  son  to 
Dr.  Raffles'  "Supplement  to  Watts"  (1853). 


410  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

JOHN  MASON". 
1694. 

John  Mason  was  a  contemporary  of  Bunyan  and  Bax- 
tei,  Ken  and  Dryden,  Tate  and  Brady.  Of  his  nativity  no 
particulars  are  extant.  His  school-days  were  passed  in  the 
humble  parish  of  Strixton,  ten  miles  east  of  Northampton, 
England.  He  entered  Clare  Hall,  Cambridge,  in  1660,  and 
graduated,  A.B.,  1664,  and  A.M.,  1668.  He  first  served  in 
the  ministry  as  the  Curate  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sawyer,  in  the 
rural  parish  of  Isham,  Northamptonshire.  Then  he  was 
presented,  October  31,  1668,  to  the  Vicarage  of  Stanton- 
Bury,  Buckinghamshire,  where  he  continued  more  than 
five  years.  Several  of  his  "Letters,"  written  here,  were 
published  with  his  "  Remaius,"  and  breathe  forth  a  most 
exalted  spirit  of  piety. 

He  was  presented,  January  28,  1^74,  to  the  Rectory  of 
Water  Stratford,  on  the  upper  Ouse,  where  he  continued, 
through  the  troublous  times  of  that  period,  most  faithfully 
serving  God,  and  cultivating  the  spirit  of  holiness  in  him- 
self and  all  about  him,  f uU  twenty  years,  until  his  death 
in  1694. 

Living  in  a  dissolute  and  profane  period,  he  left  behind 
him  few  superiors  in  things  pertaining  to  God.  It  is  rare 
to  find  such  a  character  in  any  age.  Religion  was  both 
his  business  and  pleasure ;  it  was  the  atmosphere  in  and 
by  which  he  lived.  He  sought  to  diffuse  the  same  spirit 
all  about  him,  and  to  make  everybody  partaker  of  his  joy. 
Richard  Baxter  called  him  "the  glory  of  the  Church  of 
England."  His  "  Select  Remains,"  edited  by  his  grandson, 
Rev.  John  Mason,  can  not  be  read  without  profit.  Tlie 
style  is  sententious,  antithetic,  crisp,  and  solid,  with  no  re- 
dundancy. His  poems,  while  somewhat  stiff  in  their  struc- 
ture, and  a  little  harsh  in  their  flow,  partake  of  the  stjle  of 
his  prose. 

He  published,  in  1683 :— "  Spiritual  Songs ;  or  Songs  of 


JOHN    MASON.  411 

Praise  to  Almiglity  God,  Upon  Several  Occasions.  Together 
with  the  Song  of  Songs,  which  is  Solomon's  :  First  Turn'd, 
then  Paraphrased  in  English  Verse:  With  an  Addition 
of  a  Sacred  Poem  on  Dives  and  Lazarus.  To  which  is 
Added  Penitential  Cries."  The  " Songs"  are  highly  spirit- 
ual and  devout. 

In  his  first  "  Song  of  Praise,"  the  fourth  stanza  is  admi- 
rable : 

' '  How  great  a  being,  Lord !  is  thine, 

Which  doth  all  bemgs  keep ! 
Thy  knowledge  is  the  only  line 

To  sound  so  vast  a  deep : 
Thou  art  a  sea  without  a  shore, 

A  STin  without  a  sphere, 
Thy  time  is  now  and  evermore, 

Thy  place  is  everywhere." 

In  his  "  Song  of  Praise  for  the  Evening,"  beginning  with 
"  Now  from  the  altar  of  my  heart," 
occurs  this  stanza : 

"  Man's  life  's  a  book  of  history. 
The  leaves  thereof  are  days. 
The  letters  mercies  closely  joined, 
The  title  is  thy  praise." 

His  twenty-fourth  "  Song,"  beginning  with 

"  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord," 

has  eleven  single  stanzas  in  the  original,  and  is  a  remark- 
able effusion  of  glowing  love  and  holy  Joy.  The  following 
is  the  first  stanza  of  his  second  "  Song  ": 

"  What  shall  I  render  to  my  God 

For  all  his  gifts  to  me? 
Sing,  heaven  and  earth !  rejoice  and  praise 

His  glorious  majesty. 
Bright  cherubims !  sweet  seraphims ! 

Praise  him  with  all  your  might ; 
Praise,  praise  him,  all  ye  hosts  of  heaven ! 

Praise  him,  ye  saints  in  light ! " 


412  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Mason's  book  was  familiar  to  Isaac  Watts,  and  gave 
shape  to  some  of  Ms  phraseology.  Pope  and  the  Wesleys, 
also,  show  a  similar  familiarity  with  this  old  Puritan. 


WILLIAM  MASOJS". 
1719-1791. 

William  Mason  was  born,  in  1719,  at  Eotherhithe, 
then  a  suburb  of  London,  on  the  Surrey  side.  At  the  age 
of  ten,  the  family  removed  to  Bermondsey,  the  adjoining 
parish  on  the  west,  and  nearer  the  heart  of  the  city.  He 
w^as  favored  with  a  good  grammar-school  education,  includ- 
ing the  rudiments  of  the  Latin  language.  At  a  suitable 
age  he  was  bound  apprentice  to  his  father,  who  was  a  clock- 
maker.  In  1740,  his  father  died,  leaving  to  him  his  busi- 
ness, and  the  care  of  a  mother,  sister,  and  brother.  The 
next  year,  he  married  Miss  Cox. 

Though  not  religiously  trained,  he  was  a  constant  at- 
tendant of  the  parish  church,  conforming  outwardly  to  the 
requirements  of  a  Christian  profession.  ISTot  finding  that 
peace  of  mind  that  he  desired,  he  began  occasionally  to 
attend  Wesley's  chapels,  greatly  to  his  spiritual  advantage. 
He  joined  one  of  his  societies,  and  became,  also,  a  class- 
leader.  Subsequently,  becoming  dissatisfied  with  Wesley's 
doctrine,  he  attached  himself  to  Whitefield,  Mr.  Jones  of 
Southwark,  and  Mr.  Romaine,  retaining  his  connection 
with  the  parish  church. 

He  now  began  to  write,  occasionally,  for  the  press.  His 
first  publication  was  a  pamphlet,  entitled, — "  Morality  not 
Christianity,"  in  opposition  to  a  sermon  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Wingfield,  of  Southwark.  In  1754,  he  sent  out  another 
pamphlet,  containing,  "  Plain  Queries,  humbly  offered  to 
the  Clergy,  with  an  Expostulatory  Address  to  the  Laity  of 
the  Church  of  England,  on  the  Declension  of  Scriptural 


WILLIAM  MASON".  413 

Christianity."  Four  years  later,  he  published  (1768)  "Re- 
marks and  Observations  on  the  Morality  and  Divinity  con- 
tained in  a  Pamphlet  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Free";  and,  in  1760, 
"  Antinomian  Heresy  exploded,"  in  reply  to  James  Relly's 
"Treatise  on  Union."  To  these  were  added,  in  subsequent 
years :  "  Methodism  Displayed,  and  Enthusiasm  Detected  "; 
"The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Imputed  Righteousness";  and 
several  small  books  for  children. 

His  principal  work,  by  which  he  is  best  known,  is  "  A 
Spiritual  Treasury  for  the  Children  of  God,"  in  two  vol- 
umes, one  for  the  morning,  the  other  for  the  evening.  "  An 
affectionate  Address  to  Passionate  Professors,"  was  pub- 
lished in  1774.  ' '  The  Christian  Communicant "  was  designed 
as  " A  suitable  Companion  to  the  Lord's  Supper."  "The 
Believer's  Pocket  Companion  "  was  very  favorably  received. 
In  1778,  he  published  "  The  Christian  Companion  for  the 
Sabbath,"  in  two  volumes.  His  other  works  were  :  "  Crumbs 
from  the  Master's  Table  ";  "  Manual  of  Piety  ";  and  "  Help 
to  Family  and  Private  Devotion." 

He  succeeded  the  Rev.  A.  M.  Toplady  (1777)  as  the  editor 
of  The  Gospel  Magazine,  which  he  conducted  for  several 
years,  and  in  which  he  first  published  his  "  Notes  on  Bun- 
yan's  Pilgrim's  Progress." 

He  was  long  known  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and,  in 
1783,  was  appointed  an  acting  Magistrate,  having,  the  same 
year,  retired  from  business.  Four  years  afterwards  (1787), 
he  had  a  slight  stroke  of  paralysis,  and  a  more  severe 
one  in  1789,  from  both  of  which  he  recovered.  A  third, 
September  29,  1791,  terminated  his  life  the  same  day,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  His  only  son,  the  Rev. 
Henry  Cox  Mason,  had,  for  twelve  years,  been  the  Morn- 
ing Preacher  and  Lecturer  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen,  the 
parish  church  of  Bermondsey, 

His  hymn,  entitled  "The  Christian  Surrender,"  begin- 
ning with 

"  Welcome,  welcome,  dear  Redeemer! " 

is  taken  from  the  "  Supplement "  of  the  London  Evangel- 


414  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ical  Magazine  for  1794.  It  contains,  in  tlie  original,  five 
stanzas,  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  of  which  are  sub- 
joined : 

"  Not  my  own,  througli  thy  redemption, 
And  thy  overcommg  grace, 
Hear  the  call  of  every  passion, 
Saviour  !  come  and  take  thy  place ; 

Lord !  come  quickly ; 
Here  display  thy  beauteous  face. 

"  Thousand  thousand  sad  resorters, 
All  th'  attendant  host  of  sin, 
Will  and  must  become  usurpers, 
If  thyself  be  not  within : 

Come,  Lord  Jesus ! 
Let  thy  glorious  train  be  seen. 

"  Set  apart  this  humble  dwelling. 
Here  erect  thy  throne  of  state ; 
Faith,  and  every  grace  attending. 
Shall  around  thy  footstool  wait ; — 

Thou,  their  Sovereign, 
Thou,  their  only  Potentate." 

Mr.  Mason's  publications  are  characterized  by  pure  doc- 
trine, deep  piety,  and  an  ardent  zeal  for  the  conversion 
and  sanctification  of  souls.  They  have  had  a  large  cir- 
culation, and  have  exerted  a  powerful  influence  for  good. 
"In  the  discharge  of  the  filial,  fraternal,  conjugal,  and 
parental  duties,  he  was  cheerful  and  exact";  while  as  a 
citizen  and  magistrate  he  was  universally  respected,  and  as 
a  Christian  greatly  beloved.  Though  occupying,  as  a 
tradesman,  a  comparatively  humble  sphere,  he  "may,  with 
strict  propriety,  be  classed  among  the  good,  the  great,  and 
useful,  of  society." 


EICHAED  MASSIE.  415 

RICHARD  MASSIE. 

1800 . 

Mr.  Massie  is  of  an  ancient  Cheshire  family,— one  of  the 
oldest  in  the  county.  His  father,  the  Rev.  Richard  Massie 
(1771-1854),  was  the  only  chUd  of  Thomas  Massie,  of  Cod- 
dington,  Cheshire,  England,  and  Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  Marriott,  Esq.,  of  Cheshunt,  Hertfordshire.  His 
mother,  Hester  Lee  Townshend,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Col. 
Edward  V.  Townshend,  of  Wincham  Hall,  Cheshire,  was 
married  in  1796,  and  had  twenty-two  children,  of  whom 
eighteen  came  to  maturity. 

Richard  Massie  was  the  eldest  son  of  this  large  family, 
and  was  born,  June  18, 1800.  His  early  days  were  spent  at 
Chester,  where  his  father  was  settled  from  1803  to  1832  in 
charge  of  the  parish  of  St.  Brides.  He  married,  January 
7, 1834,  Mary  Ann,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Hugh  Robert 
Hughes,  of  Blache  Hall,  Chester.  She  died  in  1841.  Mr. 
Massie,  being  a  gentleman  of  wealth  and  leisure,  has  de- 
voted himself  to  literature.  He  resides  at  Pulford  HaU, 
Coddington,  Cheshire ;  and  has,  also,  a  seat  at  Wrexham, 
in  Denbighshire,  Wales.  Both  seats  are  but  a  few  miles 
south  of  Chester.  In  1854,  he  published  a  translation  of 
"Martin  Luther's  Spiritual  Songs";  and,  in  1860,  "Lyra 
Domestica :  Translated  from  the  '  Psaltery  and  Harp,'  of 
C.  J.  P.  Spitta,  by  Richard  Massie,"— which  contains  sev- 
eral hymns  that  have  become  quite  popular. 

The  following  versification  of  one  of  Spitta's  hymns,  is  a 
pleasing  specimen  of  his  style : 

"  The  piirple  morning  gilds  the  eastern  skies, 
And  what  the  night  had  hidden  from  our  eyes 

Now  stands  revealed  to  our  admiring  gaze ; 
Mountain  and  valley,  wood  and  fruitful  plain, 
Which  in  their  misty  bed  asleep  had  lain, 
Shine  forth  and  ghtter  in  the  sun's  bright  rays. 


416  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

"  Shine  in  my  soiil,  and  light  and  joy  impart, 
O  blessed  Jesus,  Sun  of  my  dark  heart ! 

Oh!  cause  therein  the  light  of  truth  to  shine ^ 
Show  me  each  crooked  winding  of  my  heart, 
Change  and  renew  it  so  in  every  part. 
That  my  whole  nature  be  transformed  to  thine. 

"Thou  Sun !  by  whom  my  new  life  first  was  lighted, 
Oh !  let  me  not  again  become  benighted, 

But  be  my  light  when  shades  around  me  spread ; 
With  the  bright  splendor  of  thy  heavenly  rays 
Dluminate  the  evening  of  my  days. 

And  shed  a  halo  round  my  dying  head." 


MARY  FAWLER  MAUDE. 

The  author  of  the  beautiful  hymn, 

"  Thine  for  ever,  God  of  love! "  etc., 

is  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Maude,  a  graduate  of 
Queen's  College,  Oxford  (of  which  he  was,  for  some  years, 
a  Fellow),  ordained  a  priest  in  1829,  some  time  Curate  of 
Carisbrooke,  Isle  of  Wight,  and,  since  1852,  Yicar  of  Chirk, 
near  Ruabon,  Denbighshire,  and  Honorary  Clinon  of  St. 
Asaph.  While  a  resident  of  Carisbrooke,  Mrs.  Maude 
published  (1848)  "Twelve  Letters  on  Confirmation,"  in 
which  volume  this  hymn  first  appeared.  On  her  removal 
(1852)  to  Wales,  she  published  "  Memorials  of  Past  Years." 
Her  hymns  have  usually  been  prepared  for  special  paro- 
chial occasions. 


SAMUEL  MEDLEY. 

1738-1799. 

Samuel  Medley  was  a  sailor-boy,  and  fond  of  the  sea.  His 
grandfather,  Samuel,  for  whom  he  was  named,  was  attached 


SAMUEL  MEDLEY.  417 

to  Lord  Kinnoul's  Embassy  to  Constantinople  (1730),  and 
was  reputed  a  Christian  man.  His  son,  Guy,  accompanied  the 
Duke  of  Montague  in  his  tour  of  Europe,  and,  some  time 
afterwards,  resided  in  his  mansion  as  private  tutor,— having 
been  early  distinguished  for  his  classical  and  literary  at- 
tainments. He  was  subsequently,  for  a  short  season,  At- 
torney-General of  the  Island  of  St.  Vincent's,  in  the  West 
Indies.  On  his  return,  he  opened  a  boarding-school  at 
Cheshunt,  Hertfordshire,  and  was  honored  with  the  friend- 
ship of  the  Rev.  James  Hervey  and  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  W.  Tonge,  principal  of  an  academy 
at  Enfield,  in  Middlesex. 

Samuel  was  the  eldest  of  three  sons,  and  was  born  at 
Cheshunt,  June  23,  1738.  At  an  early  age,  he  was  sent  to 
his  grandfather's  school  at  Enfield.  At  fourteen,  he  was 
apprenticed  to  an  oil-dealer  in  London,  and,  at  seventeen, 
entered  the  Royal  Navy  as  a  midshipman,  being  promoted, 
not  long  after,  to  the  position  of  master's  mate,  under  Ad- 
miral Boscawen.  In  a  sanguinary  battle  with  the  French 
off  Cape  Lagos,  Portugal,  August  18,  1759,  he  received  a 
severe  and  dangerous  wound.  On  the  return  of  the  fleet, 
he  was  carried,  still  on  the  crippled  list,  to  the  house  of  his 
grandfather  Tonge,  who  had  now  removed  to  London,  and 
become  a  deacon  of  the  Baptist  Church,  Eagle  Street,  un- 
der the  care  of  the  Rev.  Andrew  Gifford,  D.D.  The  kind 
and  pious  counsels  of  Mr.  Tonge,  seconded  by  the  preach- 
ing of  Whitefield  and  Gifford,  were  blessed  to  his  conver- 
sion, and  he  joined  the  latter's  church,  in  December,  1760. 

Having  married  in  1762,  and  taught  a  school  in  King 
Street,  Solio,  for  several  years  (during  which  time  he 
applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  classics  and  sacred  lit- 
erature), he  was  licensed  to  preach  in  August,  1766  ;  and, 
in  June,  1767,  he  became  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church 
of  Watford,  Hertfordshire,  combining  teaching  with  his 
new  occupation.  He  proved  to  be  a  very  acceptable 
preacher,  and,  in  1772,  became  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
Church  in  Liverpool,  for  which  (1790)  a  commodious  edi- 
fice was  built  in  Byrom  Street.  Here  he  continued  until 
27 


418  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Ms  death,  July  17,  1799,  in  his  sixty-first  year.  He  had 
been  for  many  years  one  of  the  preachers  of  the  Tabernacle 
and  Tottenliam  Court  Road  Chapels,  London,  making  an 
annual  visit  to  the  metropolis  for  this  purpose.  He  was  a 
very  godly  man,  and  his  ministry  was  greatly  blessed. 

He  had  a  great  facility  for  versification,  and  was  accus- 
tomed to  write  occasional  hymns  to  accompany  his  ser- 
mons. They  were  at  first  printed  as  leaflets,  and  are  dated 
from  1786  to  1790.  He  published,  in  1789,  a  volume  con- 
taining 77  of  his  hymns,  and  a  larger  volume  in  1794.  A 
still  larger  edition  (230  hymns)  was  jDublished  the  year 
after  his  death  (1800),  with  the  following  title :  "  Hymns. 
— The  Public  Worship  and  Private  Devotions  of  Christians 
Assisted,  in  Some  Thoughts  in  Yerse :  Principally  Drawn 
from  Select  Passages  of  the  Word  of  God." 

The  hymns  by  which  he  is  best  known  are : 

"Awake,  my  soul,  in  joyful  lays,"  etc., 

" Oh!  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth,"  etc. 

He  wrote  nine  hymns  "  On  the  Nativity  of  Christ,"  of 
one  of  which  the  first  three  of  seven  stanzas  are  subjoined : 

'*  Join,  all  who  love  the  Saviour's  namel 
His  boundless  glories  to  proclaim, 

And  sound  his  praise  abroad ; 
He  comes,  a  dying  world  to  bless. 
With  all  the  riches  of  his  grace : 
All  hail !  incarnate  God ! 

"  Join,  ye  bright  tenants  of  the  sky! 
Sound,  sound  his  glorious  name  on  high, 

And  all  his  work  applaud ; 
Your  golden  harps,  your  holy  joy. 
Approve  the  theme,  and  love  th'  employ, 

To  sing  th'  incarnate  God. 

"  Here,  then,  let  heaven  and  earth  combine, 
In  songs  melodious  and  divine, 

To  reach  his  blessed  abode ; 
Angels  and  men,  unite  to  teU 
The  glories  of  Immanuel, 

And  sing  th'  incarnate  God." 


WILLIAM  MEECEE.  419 

WILLIAM  MERCER. 
1873. 

The  Rev,  William  Mercer  was  educated  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge.  He  graduated  B.A.  of  Trinity 
CoUege,  in  1835.  He  was  ordained  a  deacon,  the  next 
year,  by  the  Bishop  of  Chester.  In  1839,  he  was  preferred 
to  Trinity  Church,  Habergham  Eaves,  in  Lancashire,  near 
Yorkshire.  In  the  following  year,  he  accepted  the  senior 
Curacy  of  the  large  church  of  Burnley,  two  miles  distant. 
In  1841,  he  was  preferred  to  the  Perpetual  Curacy  of  St. 
George's,  Sheffield,  which  he  retained  until  his  decease, 
in  1873. 

James  Montgomery,  for  several  years  before  his  death, 
was  one  of  his  parishioners,  and  rendered  him  valuable  as- 
sistance in  the  compilation  of  his  "Church  Psalter  and 
Hymn  Book."  The  first  edition  of  this  popular  hymnal 
was  issued,  December,  1854  ;  the  second  and  improved  edi- 
tion, in  November,  1860.  A  greatly  improved  edition,  in 
three  parts.  The  Canticles,  The  Psalms,  and  511  Hymns, 
with  Tunes,  appeared  in  October,  1864.  It  has  had  a  large 
circulation.  In  1869,  it  had  found  its  way  into  1,000 
churches,  several  cathedi^als,  and  the  Royal  chapels,  and 
had  an  annual  sale  of  about  100,000  copies.  It  was  used 
by  fifty-three  of  the  London  churches.  It  is  an  excellent 
compilation,  and  has  contributed  largely  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  Psalmody  of  the  British  churches. 

A  very  favorable  specimen  of  the  compiler's  lyrical  pow- 
ers is  found  in  his  translation  of  a  Gennan  hymn  by  Nic 
olaij  in  four  stanzas,  of  which  the  first  is  subjoined  : 

"  How  bright  appears  the  moming  star, 
With  mercy  beaming  from  afar ! 

The  host  of  heaven  rejoices ; 
O  righteous  Branch !  O  Jesse's  Rod ! 
Thou  Son  of  man,  and  Son  of  God ! 

We  too  will  lift  our  voices : 


420  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Jesus!  Jesus! 
Holy,  holy !  yet  most  lowly  1 
Draw  thou  near  us ; 
Great  Iminanuel !  stoop  and  hear  us." 


JAMES  MERRICK. 

1720-1769. 

Me.  Mereick  is  to  be  classed  among  the  most  careful 
and  respectable  of  the  English  versifiers  of  "  The  Book  of 
Psalms."  Bishop  Lowth,  no  mean  authority,  speaks  of 
him  as  "  a  man  of  great  learning,"  and  characterizes  his  ver- 
sion as  "  an  admirable  work,  distinguished  by  many  splen- 
did marks  of  learning,  art,  and  genius."  A  few  only  of  his 
Psalms,  however,  have  become  popular. 

He  was  a  native  of  Reading,  Berkshire,  England,  and 
was  born  in  1720.  He  fitted  for  college  at  the  grammar- 
school  there,  and,  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen,  gave  indica- 
tions of  what  he  was  yet  to  be,  in  the  publication  of  "  The 
Messiah :  a  Divine  Essay."  Two  years  afterwards  (1736),  he 
entered  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  where  he  greatly  distin- 
guished himself  as  a  classical  scholar,  and  took  his  degrees 
in  due  form.  He  was  chosen  a  Probationer  Fellow  of  the 
same  College  in  May,  1744.  He  had  previously  demonstra- 
ted his  eminent  fitness  for  this  distinction,  by  publishing 
(1742)  "  The  Destruction  of  Troy,  translated  from  the  Greek 
of  Tryphiodorus  into  English  Yerse,  with  Notes." 

Though  duly  ordained  to  the  ministry,  he  was  compelled, 
by  incessant  pains  in  the  head,  to  refrain  from  the  perform- 
ance of  its  duties.  He  devoted  himself,  therefore,  to  liter- 
ary pursuits.  He  published  (1744)  "A  Dissertation  on 
Proverbs  IX.  1-6,"  with  "occasional  Remarks  on  other 
Passages  in  Sacred  and  Profane  Writers."  Besides  sev- 
eral Tracts,  published  at  intervals,  he  put  forth  (1763)  his 
"Poems  on  Sacred  Subjects,"  and  (1764)  "Annotations, 


JAMES  MERRICK.  421 

Critical  and  Grammatical,  on  St.  Jolin  I.  1-14,"  with  a  sec- 
ond part  in  1767. 

For  years  lie  had  been  devoted  to  the  study  of  the 
Psalms  in  the  original,  and,  in  176.^,  appeared  "The 
Psalms,  Translated  or  Paraphrased  in  English  Yerse,"— 
"a  mixture  of  Translation  and  Paraphrase";  "not  calcu- 
lated for  the  uses  of  public  Worship,"  but  rather  "the  pur- 
poses of  private  devotion." 

His  "Annotations  on  the  Psalms,"  containing  "a  great 
deal  of  elegant  criticism,"  and  "  classical  illustration,"  was 
published  in  1767.     He  died  at  Reading,  January  5, 1769. 

In  1791,  appeared  "A  Version  or  Paraphrase  of  the 
Psalms,  originally  written  by  the  Rev.  James  Merrick, 
A.M.,  Divided  into  Stanzas,  and  adapted  to  the  Purposes 
of  Public  or  Private  Devotion.  By  the  Rev.  W.  D.  Tatter- 
sall,  A.M.,  Vicar  of  Wotton-under-Edge,  Gloucestershire, 
and  Chaplain  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Justice  Buller."  The  title- 
page  is  dated,  1789  ;  but  the  publication  was  delayed  two 
years  in  the  vain  hope  of  obtaining  for  it  ecclesiastical  au- 
thorization. The  execution  of  this  work  necessarily  in- 
volved some  alterations  of  the  original  version,  but  the 
departures  are  as  few  and  as  slight  as  could  have  been  ex- 
pected. Even  in  this  form,  however,  the  book  has  had  a 
very  limited  circulation.  While  it  contains  some  passages 
of  great  beauty,  and  much  good  poetry,  with  a  versification 
generally  harmonious,  classical,  and  resonant,  it  is,  for  the 
most  part,  too  rhetorical ;  and,  at  times,  pompous,  diffuse, 
and  inflated— not  at  all  adapted  for  popular  use.  "The 
translator,"  he  himself  avows,  "knew  not  how,  without 
neglecting  the  poetry,  to  TVTite  in  such  language  as  the 
common  sort  of  people  would  be  likely  to  understand." 

Merrick's  version  of  the  122d  Psalm,— 

"  With  holy  joy  I  hail  the  day,"  etc., 

is  a  translation  and  paraphrase  of  Dr.  Theodore  Zwinger's 
Latin  translation  of  the  same  Psalm,  beginning  with 

"  O  lux  Candida,  lux  mihi 
Laeti  conscia  transitus ! 


422  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Per  Christi  meritum  patet 
Vitae  porta  beatse." 

Merrick  lias  eight  six-line  stanzas.    His  version  of  the  133d 
Psalm  is  written  in  the  same  metre,  thus : 

"  How  blessed  the  sight,  the  joy  how  sweet, 
When  brothers  joined  with  brothers  meet, 

In  bands  of  mutual  love ! 
Less  sweet  the  liquid  fragrance,  shed 
On  Aaron's  consecrated  head. 

Ran  trickling  from  above, 
And  reached  his  beard,  and  reached  his  vest : 
Less  sweet  the  dews  on  Hermon's  breast, 

Or  Zion's  hill  descend : 
That  hill  has  God  with  blessings  crowned, 
There  promised  grace  that  knows  no  bound, 

And  life  that  knows  no  end." 


ALBERT  MIDLANE. 

1825 . 

Albeet  Midlane  was  born,  January  23,  1825,  at  New- 
port, Isle  of  Wight.  He  was  the  youngest  of  a  large 
family,  and  was  trained,  by  Christian  parents,  in  the  ways 
of  godliness.  In  early  youth,  he  became  an  humble  follow- 
er of  Christ,  and  devoted  his  talents  to  the  glory  of  God. 
He  was  prompted  to  poetic  effort,  by  some  remarks  of  his 
Sunday- School  teacher.     His  earliest  published  hymn, — 

"  God  bless  our  Sunday-Schools! "  etc., 

was  contributed  (1843)  to  the  Baptist  CMldrerCs  Magazine. 
His  first  volume,  "Poetry  addressed  to  Sabbath-School 
Teachers,"  was  issued  in  1844,  followed,  in  1848,  by  "  The 
Fatherless  Village  Girl." 

One  mile  to  the  southwest  of  the  town  of  Newport  are 


JAMES  EL  WIN  MILLAED.  423 

the  venerable  ruins  of  Carisbrooke  Castle.  Hitlier  he  used 
frequently  to  resort,  at  the  twilight  hour,  and  meditate 
among  the  inspiring  scenery  of  the  place.  Most  of  his 
hymns  were  written  during  these  walks  ;  and  here,  too,  was 
suggested  his  "Vecta  Garland:  Poems  on  the  Scenery 
and  Beauty  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,"  published  (1850)  under 
the  patronage  of  Prince  Albert.  He  published  nothing 
further  until  1860,  when  he  contributed  nine  hymns  to 
"  The  Evangelist's  Hymn-Book,"  and  one,  at  least,  to  "  Good 
News  for  the  Little  Ones";  also,  in  1861,  fifty-one  to  "The 
Ambassador's  Hymn-Book,"  and  one  to  the  "Londo:i  Mes- 
senger"; in  1862,  forty  to  the  "Hymn-Book  for  Youth," 
and  several  to  "William  Carter's  Gospel  Hymn-Book." 

Many  of  his  hymns  and  fugitive  pieces  were  gathered 
into  a  volume,  and  published  (1864)  with  the  title,—"  Leaves 
from  Olivet :  A  Collection  of  Sacred  Poetry."  This  was  fol- 
lowed (1865)  by  ten  pieces  in  "  Pleasant  Hymns  for  Boys 
and  Girls,"  and  a  large  number  in  "  Gospel  Echoes."  "  The 
Union  Series  of  Leaflets"  appeared  in  1868.  He  has  been 
a  frequent  contributor,  both  of  prose  and  poetry,  to  several 
of  the  periodicals. 


JAMES  ELWIN  MILLAED. 

1821 . 

The  Rev.  De.  Millaed  is  a  graduate  of  Magdalen  Col- 
lege, Oxford,  where  he  took  his  degree  of  B.A.,  in  1845, 
and  of  M.A.,  in  1848.  On  his  graduation,  he  was  also 
chosen  one  of  the  Fellows  of  the  College.  Being  appointed 
to  the  Curacy  of  Bradfield,  Berkshire,  he  was  ordained  a 
deacon,  June  7,  1846,  by  the  Bishop  of  Oxford.  He  re 
ceived,  also,  the  same  year,  an  appointment  to  the  Head 
Mastership  of  Magdalen  College  School,  Oxford.  The  fol 
lowing  year,  May  30,  1847,  he  was  ordained  to  the  priest 


424  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

liood.     In  1859,  lie  received  the  degree  of  D.D.  from  Mag- 
dalen College. 

His  first  publication  (1847)  was  "The  Island  Choir,  or 
the  Children  of  the  Child  Jesus."  The  next  year  (1848),  he 
published  "  Historical  Notices  of  the  Office  of  Choristers," 
and  contributed  several  hymns  to  "The  Devout  Chorister"; 
also  (1850)  to  "  The  Ecclesiastic. "  In  1864,  he  was  preferred 
to  the  Vicarage  of  Basingstoke,  Hampshire.  His  version  of 
the  "TeDeum," 

"  God  eternal,  Lord  of  all,"  etc., 

was  contributed  (1848)  to  "  The  Devout  Chorister,"  and,  in 
the  original,  consists  of  eight  stanzas. 


HENRY  MILLS. 

1786-1867. 

Het^ry  :Mills  was  the  son  of  John  Mills  and  Chloe  Wines, 
of  Morristown,  N.  J.,  where  he  was  born,  March  12,  1786. 
He  fitted  for  college  in  his  native  place,  and  graduated  at 
the  College  of  New  Jersey,  Princeton,  in  1802.  He  took 
charge  of  the  Morristown  Academy  shortly  after,  and,  in 
1806,  of  the  Elizabethtown  Academy.  In  1810,  he  was  Tu- 
tor of  the  College  at  Princeton.  He  studied  theology  with 
his  former  pastor,  the  Rev.  James  Richards,  D.D.,  was 
Licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Jersey,  received  a 
call  to  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  and  was  ordained  there,  in  1816.  After 
a  successful  pastorate  of  five  years,  he  removed  to  Auburn, 
N.  Y.,  to  occupy  the  chair  of  Biblical  Criticism  in  the  newly- 
founded  Theological  Seminary.  In  this  position  he  contin- 
ued, honored  and  successful  as  a  theological  teacher,  until 
the  year  1854,  when,  by  reason  of  increasing  physical  in- 
firmities, he  was,  at  his  own  request,  relieved  from  the  du- 


HENEY  HAET  MILMAN.  425 

ties  of  Ills  chair,  and  made  Professor  Emeritus.  The  re- 
maining thii'teen  years  of  his  life  were  occupied  mostly  in 
literary  and  theological  study,  and  recreation.  In  1833,  he 
was  honored  with  the  degree  of  D.D.,  by  Amherst  College. 
He  died,  June  10,  1867,  at  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  in  his  eighty- 
second  year. 

He  married,  in  early  life,  Miss  Maria  Barkins,  who  out- 
lived him.  Two  sons  and  five  daughters  were  given  them ; 
four  of  the  latter  becoming  the  wives  of  clergymen,  viz.: 
Rev.  RusseU  S.  Cook,  Rev.  Claudius  B.  Lord,  Rev.  Henry 
A.  Nelson,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  Frederick  Starr,  Jr. 

Dr.  Mills  was  an  admirable  Hebrew  scholar,  and  excelled 
in  Biblical  Criticism.  He  made  himself  familiar,  also,  with 
the  German  language,  and  occupied  many  of  his  spare 
hours  in  translating,  into  English  verse,  some  of  the  many 
excellent  hymns  with  which  that  language  abounds.  These 
he  gave  to  the  press,  in  184.5,  with  the  title,—"  Hor?e  Ger- 
manicse:  A  Version  of  German  Hymns."  This  volume 
contained  128  translations,  all  of  them,  with  four  excep- 
tions, in  the  exact  measure  of  the  original ;  with  an  "  Ap- 
pendix," containing  "A  Version  of  'Dies  Irse,'  "  and  of  a 
" Part  of  '  Stabat  Mater.' "  A  second  edition,  revised,  with 
44  additional  translations,  appeared  in  1856.  The  versifi- 
cation is  smooth,  the  rhyme  and  rhythm  exact,  and  the 
style  attractive.    The  book  is  among  the  best  of  its  kind. 


HENRY  HART  MILMAN. 

1791-1868. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Milman  occupied  a  conspicuous  place 
among  the  ripe  scholars  and  distinguished  authors  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Known  at  first  as  a  poet  and  drama- 
tist, with  an  ambitious  and  somewhat  pompous  yet  vigor- 
ous style,  he  came  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  ecclesi- 
astical historians  of  the  age. 


426  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Dean  Milman  was  tlie  youngest  son  of  Sir  Francis  Mil- 
man,  Bart,  M.D.,  F.R.S.,  President  of  the  CoUege  of  Phy- 
sicians, and  Physician  to  the  Royal  household,  the  son  of 
a  Devonshire  clergyman,  and  a  graduate  of  Exeter  College, 
Oxford.  His  mother,  Frances  Hart,  was  the  only  child  of 
William  Hart,  of  Stapleton,  Gloucestershire.  He  was  born, 
February  10,  1791,  in  the  parish  of  St.  James,  Westmin- 
ster, London.  He  was  trained  successively, — at  the  Acad- 
emy in  Greenwich,  of  which  the  Rev.  Charles  Burney, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  Greek  schol- 
ars of  the  day,  was  the  Principal ;  at  Eton  College ;  and 
at  Brazenose  College,  Oxford,  entering  the  latter  in  1810, 
and  graduating,  B.A.,  in  1813,  and  M.A.,  in  1816.  He 
wrote,  in  1812,  an  English  poem  on  "  The  Belvedere  Apol- 
lo," for  -nhich  he  received  the  Newdegate  prize ;  and,  the 
year  follo\^'ing,  won  the  prize  for  the  best  Latin  verse.  In 
1815,  he  was  chosen  a  Fellow  of  his  College,  and  published 
"Fazio:  a  Tragedy."  In  1816,  he  took  the  prize  for  the 
best  English  and  Latin  Essay.  The  high  promise  of  his 
youth  was  fully  confirmed  in  later  years. 

In  1816,  he  was  ordained  a  deacon  by  Dr.  Howley,  the 
Bishop  of  London,  and  priest,  in  1817,  by  Dr.  Legge,  the 
Bishop  of  Oxford.  He  obtained  the  Vicarage  of  St.  Mary's, 
Reading,  Berkshire,  in  1818,  and,  during  his  incumbency, 
entered  uiDon  his  career  of  authorship.  "  Samor,  Lord  of 
the  Bright  City,  an  Heroic  Poem,"  begun  at  Eton,  was  pub- 
lished in  1818,  and  "  The  Fall  of  Jerusalem,  a  Dramatic  Po- 
em," in  1820.  In  December  of  the  same  year,  Reginald 
Heber,  then  Rector  of  Hodnet,  asked  his  "  assistance  and 
contribution  to  the  Collection"  of  hymns  which  he  was 
then  preparing.  "  I  know,"  he  wrote,  "  with  what  facility 
you  write  poetry,  and  all  the  world  knows  with  what  suc- 
cess you  write  religious  poetry."  In  cheerful  response  to 
this  request,  Milman  contributed  the  following  year  (1821) 
the  twelve  hymns  which  are  attributed  to  him  in  the  Col- 
lection published  by  Mrs.  Heber  in  1827.  Under  date 
of  December  28,  1821,  Heber  wrote:  "You  have  indeed 
sent  me  a  most  powerful  reinforcement  to  my  projected 


HENRY  HART  MILMAN.  427 

hymn-book.  A  few  more  such  hymns  and  I  shall  neither 
need  nor  wait  for  the  aid  of  Scott  and  Southey."  To  his 
friendship  for  Heber,  therefore,  the  Christian  world  is  in- 
debted for  Milman's  hymns,  some  of  which  are  admirable 
productions. 

He  was  chosen  (1821)  Professor  of  Poetry  for  ten  years 
in  Oxford  University,  as  the  successor  of  the  Rev.  John  J. 
Conybeare.  The  same  year,  he  published  "  The  Belvedere 
Apollo ;  Fazio,  a  Tragedy ;  and  other  Poems."  He  pro- 
duced, in  1822,  "  The  Martyr  of  Antioch,"  and  "  Belshaz- 
zar,"  both  of  them  Dramatic  Poems.  In  1826,  he  pub- 
lished "Anne  Boleyn,"  also  a  Dramatic  Poem.  He  was 
appointed  to  deliver  the  Bampton  Lectures  at  Oxford,  in 
1827,  and  chose,  for  his  theme,  "  The  Character  and  Con- 
duct of  the  Apostles  considered  as  an  Evidence  of  Christi- 
anity." His  first  contribution  to  History  was  made  in 
1829—"  The  History  of  the  Jews,"  in  three  volumes.  To 
this  succeeded,  in  1835,  the  last  year  of  his  residence  at 
Reading,  "  Nala  and  Damayanti,  and  other  Poems,  trans- 
lated from  the  Sanscrit." 

He  was  now  (1885)  transferred  to  the  Rectory  of  St.  Mar- 
garet's, Westminster,  directly  under  the  shadow  of  West- 
minster Abbey,  and  at  the  same  time  made  a  Prebendary 
of  St.  Peter  at  Westminster.  In  1837,  he  published  a  "  Se- 
lection of  Psalms  and  Hymns  for  the  Use  of  St.  Margaret's, 
Westminster."  He  also  edited,  for  Murray,  Gibbon's  "De- 
cline and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  which  was  published, 
in  four  volumes  (1838),  with  a  "  Preface,"  a  "  Sketch  of  the 
Author's  Life,"  and  copious  and  corrective  "Notes,"  by 
Milman.  This  was  foUowed,  in  1839,  by  "  The  Life  of  Ed- 
ward Gibbon,  with  Selections  from  his  Correspondence." 
The  work  on  which  he  had  been,  for  years,  expending  his 
energies  next  appeared  (1840),  as  "  The  History  of  Christi- 
anity, from  the  Birth  of  Christ  to  the  Abolition  of  Pagan- 
ism in  the  Roman  Empire."  Though  written  before  he  had 
access  to  Strauss'  work,  "  Das  Leben  Jesu,"  it  contains,  in 
an  Appendix  to  Chap.  11. ,  a  confutation  of  the  German 
Philosopher ;  and  Milman  claimed  that  his  "  History  "  was 


428  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

"a  complete,  tliongh.  of  course  undesigned,  refutation  oi 
his  hypothesis."  His  leading  object,  in  this  very  able  His- 
tory, was  "to  trace  the  effect  of  Christianity  on  the  indi\dd- 
ual  and  social  happiness  of  man,  its  influence  on  the  Polity, 
the  Laws  and  Institutions,  the  opinions,  the  manners,  even 
on  the  Arts  and  the  Literature  of  the  Christian  world," — 
"  to  exhibit  the  reciprocal  influence  of  civilization  on  Chris- 
tianity, of  Christianity  on  civilization." 

He  was  appointed,  in  1849,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  London, 
and  received  from  Oxford  University  the  degree  of  D.D. 
The  same  year,  he  published  an  illustrated  edition  of  "  The 
Works  of  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus,"  with  "  A  Life," — "  a 
truly  classical  biography."  Several  years  were  now  given 
to  the  production  of  his  last  great  work,  "  The  History  of 
Latin  Christianity,  including  that  of  the  Popes  to  the  Pon- 
tiflcate  of  Nicholas  Y.,"  which  was  published,  three  vol- 
umes in  1864,  and  three  volumes  in  1856.  His  Poetic 
Works  were  published  (1839)  complete  in  three  volumes. 
He  wrote,  also,  a  "  Life  of  Keats,"  and  a  "  Memoir  of  Thos. 
Babington  Macaulay"  (1858).  He  was,  moreover,  a  fre- 
quent contributor  to  the  London  Quarterly  Memew,  Fra- 
sefs  Magazine^  and  others.  In  1865,  he  published  a  Trans- 
lation of  "^schylus  and  Euripides";  also  of  "the  Lyric 
and  Later  Poets  of  Greece."  He  left,  at  his  death,  "  The 
Annals  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,"  which  came  out  the  same 
year  (1868). 

After  a  life  of  great  literary  labor  and  of  incessant  activ- 
ity as  an  author,  he  was  at  length  overtaken  with  paralysis, 
and  died,  September  24, 1868,  at  Sunningtield,  near  Ascot, 
in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

As  a  preacher  he  was  less  known  than  as  a  writer.  His 
sermons  were  elegant  and  classical,  but  passionless, — well 
read,  but  destitute  of  energy.  He  was  decidedly  liberal 
in  theological  opinions  and  ecclesiastical  matters — being 
classed  with  the  Broad  Church  Party.  He  was  tall  and  of 
a  graceful  figure,  with  an  aquiline  nose,  small  mouth,  black 
eyes  with  bushy  eyebrows,  and  abundant  hair  overshadow- 
ing a  high  forehead.     He  was  altogether  a  man  of  distin- 


HENRY  HART  MILMAN.  429 

guished  presence,  as  lie  was,  in  fact,  "  a  prince  and  a  great 
man  in  Israel." 

As  a  prose  writer  and  a  historian,  lie  occupied  a  position 
of  great  eminence.  His  poetry,  also,  is  of  a  liigli  order, 
some  of  it  extremely  beautiful.  Of  one  of  his  books,  the 
Quarterly  Review  says  :  "  Every  page  exhibits  some  beau- 
tiful expression,  some  pathetic  turn,  some  original  thought, 
or  some  striking  image."  His  hymn  for  the  "  Second  Sun- 
day in  Advent,"  contributed  to  Heber's  Collection,  fairly 
exhibits  his  style : 

"  The  chariot!  the  chariot!  its  wheels  roll  on  fire, 
As  the  Lord  cometh  down  in  the  pomp  of  his  ire : 
Self -moving  it  drives  on  its  pathway  of  cloud, 
And  the  heavens  with  the  burthen  of  Godhead  are  bowed. 

"  The  glory!  the  glory!  by  myiiads  are  poured, 
The  hosts  of  the  angels  to  wait  on  their  Lord, 
And  the  glorified  saints  and  the  martyi'S  are  there, 
And  all  who  the  palm- wreath  of  victory  wear, 

"  The  trxmipet!  the  trmnpet!  the  dead  have  all  heard; 
Lo !  the  depths  of  the  stone-covered  chamel  are  stu-red ; 
From  the  sea,  from  the  land,  from  the  south  and  the  north, 
The  vast  generations  of  men  are  come  forth. 

"  The  judgment!  the  judgment!  the  thrones  are  all  set. 
Where  the  Lamb  and  the  white- vested  elders  are  met ; 
All  flesh  is  at  once  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord 
And  the  doom  of  eternity  hangs  on  his  word. 

"  Oh!  mercy!  Oh!  mercy!  look  down  from  above, 
Creator !  on  us,  thy  sad  children,  with  love ; 
When  beneath  to  their  darkness  the  wicked  are  driven, 
May  our  sanctified  souls  find  a  mansion  in  heaven  I " 


430  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH.     • 

JOHN   MILTON. 

1608-1674. 

England's  great  epic  poet  was  born  appropriately  in  the 
very  lieart  of  old  London.  The  house,  in  Avhich  he  first  saw 
the  light,  was  but  three  doors  south  of  Cheapside  in  Bread 
Street,  at  the  sign  of  the  Spread  Eagle,  almost  under  the 
eaves  of  old  Bow  Church.  He  was  born  December  9,  1608. 
His  father  was  a  scrivener,  of  good  repute,  and  well-to-do 
in  his  worldly  estate.  John  was  the  third  of  six  children, 
three  of  whom  died  in  infancy — an  elder  sister  and  a 
younger  brother,  Christopher,  surviving. 

He  was  a  boy  of  fine  promise,  and  the  pride  of  the  house. 
Every  advantage  of  education  was  given  him — a  tutor  at 
home,  and  a  place  in  St.  Paul's  school  from  1620  to  1625. 
A  taste  for  poetry  and  music  was  inherited  from  his  father, 
who  was  himself  a  musical  composer.  In  Ravenscroft's 
Psalter,  1621,  John  Milton,  senior,  appears  as  the  harmo- 
nizer  of  the  good  old  psalm  tunes,  York  and  Norwich.  It 
is  not  strange,  therefore,  that,  with  an  organ  in  the  house, 
in  almost  constant  use  by  the  father,  the  boy  should  have 
obtained  considerable  culture  in  this  direction.  His  ver- 
sion of  the  136th  Psalm,  beginning  with 

"  Let  us,  with  a  gladsome  mind, 
Praise  the  Lord,  for  he  is  kind," 

dates  back  to  1624,  when  he  was  only  fifteen  years  of  age. 
He  entered  Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  as  a  pensioner, 
February  12,  1625.  He  was  admitted  to  the  degree  of 
A.B.,  in  January,  1629,  and  continued  his  residence  at 
Cambridge  until  July,  1632,  when  he  graduated  A.M.  His 
celebrated  ode,  "  On  the  Morning  of  Christ's  Nativity,"  was 
composed  for  Christmas,  1629.  It  contains  the  well-known 
hymn,  beginning  with 

"  It  was  the  winter  wild. 
While  the  heaven-born  child. 
All  meanly  wrapped,  in  the  rude  manger  lies." 


JOHN  MILTON.  431 

During  this  period  lie  cultivated,  also,  and  became  skilled 
in,  the  art  of  writing  Latin  poetry.  Previous  to  his  leav- 
ing Cambridge,  he  had  written  enough  poetry,  both  English 
and  Latin,  to  form  a  considerable  volume,  and  had  devel- 
oped a  purpose  to  devote  himself  to  the  pursuit  of  Litera- 
ture. His  father  had  designed  him  for  the  Church,  but 
Laud's  intolerance  turned  him  away  from  the  pulpit. 
Nearly  six  years  were  now  passed  at  Horton,  Buckingham- 
shire, a  quiet  agricultural  hamlet,  whither  his  father  had 
retired  on  giving  up  business.  Here  the  poet  perfected 
himself  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  Classics,  and  cultivated,  in 
the  midst  of  the  lovely  scenery  of  the  neighborhood,  his  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Muse.  Here  he  wrote  his  "  Sonnet  to 
the  Nightingale,"  "L' Allegro,"  " H  Penseroso,"  "Arcades," 
"Comus,"  and  "Lycidas." 

In  April,  1638,  he  visited  the  Continent,  travelling 
through  Italy  to  Naples ;  and,  having  received  much  at- 
tention from  scholars  abroad,  returned  home  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1639.  Attaching  himself  to  the  Puritan  party  in 
politics,  he  took  up  his  abode  in  London,  and  opened  a 
school  in  Aldersgate  Street.  With  the  meeting  of  Parlia- 
ment, in  1640,  began  the  great  struggle  for  popular  rights. 
Milton,  for  the  next  twenty  years,  gave  himself  to  the  cause 
of  Liberty.  In  1641,  he  published  his  treatise,  "  Of  Ref- 
ormation, touching  Church  Discipline  in  England,"— a  vig- 
orous assault  on  Episcopacy.  This  was  followed,  in  1642,  by 
two  other  pamphlets  on  the  same  topic,— "Of  Prelatical 
Episcopacy,"  and  the  "Reason  of  Church  Government 
urged  against  Prelaty." 

His  marriage  to  Mary,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Richard 
Powell,  of  Forest  Hill,  near  Shotone,  Oxfordshire,  occurred 
in  June,  1643,  after  a  very  short  courtship.  It  proved 
very  uncongenial,  his  wife,  at  the  end  of  four  weeks, 
going  back  to  her  father's  house,  and  for  two  years  refus- 
ing to  return  to  her  husband.  This  sore  disappointment 
led  Milton  to  publish  several  pamphlets  on  the  subject  of 
Divorce,  for  which  he  was  severely  censured.  His  treatise 
"Of  Education,"  and  his  "  Areopagitica,  a  Speech  for  the 


432  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Liberty  of  Unlicensed  Printing,"  appeared  in  1644 ;  and 
a  volume  of  Ms  "  Poems"  followed  in  1645,  withtlie  return 
of  his  wife,  to  whom  lie  now  became  reconciled.  About 
this  time  he  began  to  write  his  "History  of  Britain." 

After  the  execution  of  Charles  I.,  January  30,  1649,  he 
justified  the  act  in  his  "  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates," 
and  was  appointed  Secretary  for  Foreign  Tongues — or  Latin 
Secretary  of  State.  In  answer  to  the  "  Eikon  Basilike  ;  or 
a  Portraiture  of  his  Sacred  Majesty  in  his  Solitude  and  his 
Sufferings,"  he  published,  the  same  year,  his  "  Iconoclastes, 
or  the  Image-Breaker."  His  "Defensio  Populi  Anglicani " 
(1651)  was  written  in  reply  to  the  "  Defensio  Regis  "  of  Sal- 
masius  at  Leyden  ;  and  for  this  a  thousand  pounds  were 
voted  to  him  by  a  grateful  Parliament.  His  "  Defensio  se- 
cunda  pro  populo  Anglicano,"  in  response  to  Peter  du  Mou- 
lin, appeared  in  1654. 

His  eyesight,  which  had  for  years  been  seriously  affected 
by  his  incessant  studies,  quite  failed  him  in  1653  ;  and  the 
year  after,  his  Avif e  died,  leaving  three  little  daughters— one 
only  a  few  days  old.  Needing  more  than  ever,  in  his  blind- 
ness, the  companionship  of  a  good  wife,  he  married,  in  1656, 
Catherine,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Woodcock,  of  Hackney. 
She  died  in  less  than  fifteen  months,  greatly  to  his  grief, 
as  expressed  in  an  admirable  sonnet  to  her  memory. 

He  now  resumed  the  "  History  of  Britain,"  and  made 
large  preparation  for  a  new  Latin  Dictionary  (never  com- 
pleted),— still  retaining,  until  the  "  Restoration,"  his  posi- 
tion as  Latin  Secretary.  He,  also,  from  and  after  1655, 
occupied  himself,  at  intervals,  with  the  plan  and  structure 
of  "  The  Paradise  Lost."  Immediately  after  the  "  Restora- 
tion," he  was  removed  from  office,  and  obliged  to  seek  con- 
cealment. Though  prosecuted  as  an  enemy  to  the  King, 
and  for  a  while  under  arrest,  he  obtained  pardon,  and  de- 
voted his  remaining  days  to  literature.  Having  taken  a 
house  in  Jewin  Street,  near  Aldersgate  Street,  he  occupied 
himself  with  the  completion  of  his  great  epic  poem.  In 
1663,  he  married,  at  the  recommendation  of  his  friend.  Dr. 
Paget,  as  his  third  wife,  Elizabeth  Minshul,  the  daughter 


JOHN  MILTON.  433 

of  a  Cheshire  gentleman.  Soon  after,  he  removed,  for  the 
last  time,  to  a  house  in  the  Artillery  Walk,  leading  to  Bun- 
hill  Fields,  where,  in  1665,  he  completed  his  immortal 
poem.  The  same  year,  the  Plague  raged  in  London,  and 
he  found  refuge  at  St.  Giles  Chalfont,  Buckinghamshke, 
in  a  house  taken  for  him  by  his  friend,  Thomas  Ellwood. 

His  "  Paradise  Lost  "  was  published  by  Samuel  Simmons, 
London,  1667,  and  met  with  a  slow  sale— the  first  edition 
of  1,500  copies  not  having  been  disposed  of  in  less  than 
three  years.  He  had  submitted  the  manuscript,  at  Chal 
font,  in  1665,  to  Ellwood,  who,  referring  to  the  title,  pleas- 
antly remarked,  —  "Thou  hast  said  much  of  'Paradise 
Lost';  but  what  hast  thou  to  say  of  'Paradise  Found'?" 
Acting  on  this  hint,  Milton  wrought  out  his  "  Paradise  Re- 
gained," which,  with  his  "  Samson  Agonistes,"  Avas  pub- 
lished in  1671.  His  "  History  of  Britain  "  had  been  pub- 
lished the  year  before. 

In  his  last  years,  in  addition  to  his  total  blindness,  he 
suffered  greatly  from  the  gout,  which  finally  resulted  in 
his  death,  November  8, 1674.  His  remains  were  deposited 
by  the  side  of  his  father's,  in  St.  Giles'  Church,  Cripple- 
gate.    His  wife  survived  him  ;  also,  his  three  daughters. 

It  seems  scarcely  credible— but  such  is  the  facl^-that  Mil- 
ton received  only  ten  pounds  from  the  sale  of  his  great  epic ; 
and  the  copjT^ight  was  sold  by  his  widow,  seven  years  after 
his  death,  for  eight  pounds.  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1823,  Mr.  Lemon  discovered,  in  the  Old  State  Paper 
Office,  Middle  Treasury  Gallery,  Whitehall,  a  Latin  Manu- 
script of  735  pages,  with  the  title, —  "  Joannis  Miltoni 
Angli  De  Doctrina  Christiana,  Ex  Sacris  duntaxat  Libris 
petita,  Disquisitionum  Libri  Duo  Posthumi."  It  was  trans- 
lated by  Charles  R.  Sumner,  the  late  Bishop  of  Winches- 
ter, published  (1825)  in  two  volumes,  and  republished  in 
Boston,  Mass.,  the  same  year,  -with  the  title,—"  A  Treatise 
of  Christian  Doctrine." 

In  1648,  Milton  composed  versions  of  nine  of  the  Psalms, 
quite  literal  and  faithful.     His  "  Hymn  on  the  Nativity," 
composed  a  few  days  after  completing  his  twenty-first  year, 
28 


434  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

contains  twenty-seven  double  stanzas,  with  the  following 
poem: 

"  This  is  the  month,  and  this  the  happy  morn, 

Wherein  the  Son  of  heaven's  eternal  King, 
Of  "wedded  maid  and  virgin  raother  horn, 

Our  great  redemption  from  above  did  bring; 

For  so  the  holy  sages  once  did  sing, 
That  he  our  deadly  forfeit  should  release. 
And  with  his  Father  work  us  a  perpetual  peace, 

"  That  glorious  form,  that  light  unsufferable. 

And  that  far-beaming  blaze  of  majesty. 
Wherewith  he  wont,  at  heaven's  high  council-table, 

To  sit  the  midst  of  Trinal  Unity, 

He  laid  aside ;  and,  here  with  \is  to  be, 
Forsook  the  courts  of  everlasting  day, 
And  chose  with  us  a  darksome  house  of  mortal  clay. 

*'  Say,  heavenly  Muse!  shall  not  thy  sacred  vein 
Afford  a  present  to  the  infant  God  ? 
Hast  thou  no  verse,  no  hymn,  or  solemn  strain. 
To  welcome  him  to  this  his  new  abode. 
Now,  while  the  heaven,  by  the  sun's  team  untrod ; 
Hath  took  no  print  of  the  approaching  light. 
And  all  the  spangled  host  keep  watch  in  squadrons  bright  ? 

"  See  how,  from  far,  upon  the  eastern  road. 

The  star-led  wizards  haste  with  odors  sweet  I 
Oh !  run,  prevent  them  with  thy  humble  ode, 

And  lay  it  lowly  at  his  blessed  feet ; 

Have  thou  the  honor  first  thy  Lord  to  greet. 
And  join  thy  voice  unto  the  angel  quire. 
From  out  his  secret  altar  touched  with  hallowed  fii'e." 


JOHN  SAMUEL  BEWLEY  MONSELL. 

1811-1875.     . 

The  Rev.  Dk.  Monsell  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  the 
son  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bewley  Monsell,  A.M.,  Archdea- 


JOHN  SAMUEL  BEWLEY  MONSELL,  435 

con  of  Derry,  and  Precentor  of  Christ  Church  Cathedral. 
He  was  born  at  St.  Columb's,  Londonderry,  March  2,  1811. 
He  was  educated  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  graduating, 
B.  A.,  in  1832.  He  was  ordained  deacon  in  1834,  and  priest 
in  1835.  He  was  appointed,  by  Bishop  Mant,  his  exam- 
ining Chaplain,  and  subsequently  Chancellor  of  the  diocese 
of  Conner.  He  received,  also,  an  appointment  to  the  Rec- 
tory of  Ramoan.  In  1850,  he  published  his  "  Parish  Mus- 
ings, or  Devotional  Poems,"— characterized,  by  the  GJiris- 
tian  Remembrancer,  as  "  combining  pious  thoughts  of  a 
slightly  vague  theology,  with  a  general  amount  of  right 
feeling,"  and  "slight  inaccuracies."  It  had  reached  an 
eighth  edition  in  1865. 

He  was  transferred  to  the  Church  of  England,  in  1853, 
having  been  presented  to  the  Yicarage  of  Egham,  Surrey. 
He  received  (1856)  the  degree  of  LL.D.,  from  the  Univer- 
sity of  Dublin.  He  found  time,  in  his  new  position,  near 
the  metropolis,  to  prepare  and  publish  several  literary 
works:  "Spiritual  Songs";  "His  Presence,  not  his  Mem- 
ory"; "  The  Beatitudes";  "  Prayers  and  Litanies ";  "  Eng- 
lish Sisterhoods";  "No  Sect  on  Earth";  "The  Passing 
Bell";  "  Ode  to  the  Nightingales"  (1867) ;  and  "  Our  New 
Yicar,  or  Plain  Words  on  Ritual  and  Parish  Work"  (1867) ; 
and,  of  these,  several  have  been  issued  in  repeated  editions. 

In  1870,  he  was  presented  to  the  Rectory  of  St.  Nicholas, 
Guildford,  Surrey,  a  position  of  considerable  emolument, 
which  he  retained  until  his  decease,  April  9,  1875.  His 
death  was  sudden,— the  result  of  an  accident  during  the 
erection  of  a  new  building  for  the  church  at  Guildford. 

Tlie  hjTuns  of  Dr.  Monsell  are  of  a  high  order.  They 
appeared,  mostly,  in  his  "  Hymns  of  Love  and  Praise  for 
the  Church's  Year,"  the  Preface  to  which  is  dated  "All 
Saints'  Day,  1862."  He  says:  "The  great  mass  of  aU  now 
put  forth  appear  for  the  first  time,  having  been  written 
during  the  summer  just  ended.  An  admirable  article  on 
Hymnology,  in  the  Quarterly  Review  of  last  April  [repro- 
duced in  LiUelVs  Living  Age,  June  7, 1862],  suggested  the 
idea  of  endeavoring  to  reach  the  higher  standard  therein 


436  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

presented.  .  .  [They]  were  written  to  illustrate  an  idea 
wMch  has  long  filled  their  author's  mind,  that  such  por- 
tions of  our  Divine  worship  should  be  more  fervent  and 
joyous,  more  expressive  of  real  and  personal  love  to  God 
than  they  are  in  general  found  to  be.  .  .  They  are  the  ut- 
terances of  a  soul  conscious  of  most  intense  longings  for 
closer  communion  with  God."  Such  should  all  hymns  be, 
and  Dr.  Monsell  seems  to  have  been  well  qualified  to  illus- 
trate his  ideal.  Some  of  his  hymns  are  truly  admirable  ; 
many  of  them  are  subjective,  and  reveal  a  high  order  of 
Christian  experience.  The  hymn  for  the  "  Sunday  next 
before  Advent,"  which  is  here  subjoined,  was  suggested  by 
the  words  (Cant.  iv.  7),  "  Thou  art  fair,  my  love !  there  is 
no  spot  in  thee": 

"  I  would,  that  I  were  fairer,  Lord ! 

More  what  thy  bride  should  be, 
More  meet  to  be  the  sharer,  Lord  I 

Of  love  and  heaven  with  thee ; 
Yet,  if  thy  love  with  me  thou'lt  share, 
I  know  that  love  can  make  me  fair. 

" Oh!  would  that  I  were  purer,  Lord! 

More  filled  with  grace  divine, 
Oh !  would  that  I  were  surer.  Lord  I 

That  my  whole  heart  is  thine ; 
Were  it  so  pure  that  I  might  see 
Thy  beauty,  I  would  grow  like  thee. 

"  Oh !  would  that  I  could  higher.  Lord  I 

Above  these  senses  live. 
Each  feeling,  each  desire.  Lord  I 

Could  wholly  to  thee  give ; 
The  love  I  thus  would  daily  share, 
That  love  alone  would  make  me  fair. 

"Thy  goodness  and  thy  beauty.  Lord! 

Shall  robe  and  mirror  be, 
With  ornaments  of  duty.  Lord ! 

I'll  deck  my  soul  for  thee ; 
Till  all  thy  love,  beyond  compare, 
Pass  into  me,  and  make  me  fair." 


JAMES  MONTGOMERY.  437 

JAMES  MOIS^TGOMERT. 
1771-1854. 

The  name  of  James  Montgomery  is  known  and  cherished 
by  the  lovers  of  sacred  song  throughout  the  Christian 
world.  His  Sacred  Lyrics  are  among  the  best  of  his  pro- 
ductions. Some  of  them  are  found  in  nearly  all  the  compi- 
lations of  Hymns  now  used  in  Great  Britain  and  America ; 
and  not  a  few  of  them  have  been  translated  into  foreign 
tongues.     Many  of  them  will  live  forever. 

Grace  Hill  is  a  Moravian  settlement,  about  one  mile  to 
the  west  of  Ballymena,  County  Antrim,  Ireland.  It  was 
founded  in  1765,  and  was  the  result,  mainly,  of  the  preach- 
ing, in  those  parts,  some  twenty  years  before,  of  the  Rev. 
John  Cennick.  John  Montgomery,  of  a  family  residing  in 
that  neighborhood,  had  become  a  convert  to  the  doctrines 
of  the  United  Brethren,  and  joined  the  paternity  of  Grace 
Hill.  Being  a  man  of  good  address,  as  well  as  sincere  piety, 
he  was  designated  as  a  preacher.  After  awhile,  he  married 
a  young  woman,  connected  with  the  Society,  named  Mary 
Blackley ;  and  the  young  couple  were  sent  as  missionaries, 
across  the  North  Channel,  to  assist  the  Rev.  John  Caldwell. 
They  fixed  their  abode  in  the  humble  town  of  Irvine,  Ayr- 
shire, on  the  Frith  of  Clyde ;  and  there,  November  4, 1771, 
James,  their  eldest  son,  was  born.  It  was  a  romantic  spot, 
and  well  fitted  for  poetic  impressions  on  the  mind  of  the 
fair-haired  child. 

In  1776,  the  Moravian  preacher,  with  his  family,  returned 
to  Grace  Hill.  In  1777,  at  the  age  of  six  years,  James  was 
sent  to  the  Moravian  settlement  which,  in  1748,  had  been 
founded  on  Benjamin  Ingham's  estate,  near  Leeds,  York- 
shire, and  named  Fulneck.  Here,  for  nine  years,  he  remained 
under  the  care  and  tuition  of  "  The  Brethren,"  and  was  in- 
ducted into  the  sciences,  ancient  and  modern.  Designed 
for  the  Moravian  ministry,  he  was  taught  German  and 
French,  as  well  as  Latin  and  Greek,  besides  the  ordinary 


438  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

studies  of  an  English  grammar- sctool.  In  the  meantime, 
his  parents,' having,  in  1779,  brought  their  two  remaining 
sons,  Ignatius  and  Robert,  to  Fulneclv,  were  sent  forth,  in 
1783,  as  missionaries  to  Barbados,  in  the  West  Indies ; 
whence  in  1789  they  removed  to  Tobago,  where  his  mother 
died,  October  23,  1790,  followed  soon  after  by  his  father, 
who  died  at  Barbados,  June  27,  1791. 

James  was  but  an  indifferent  scholar.  His  teachers  made 
unfavorable  reports  of  his  progress.  One  of  them,  on  a 
summer  day,  took  a  few  boys  to  a  shady  spot  in  the  fields, 
and  read  to  them  Blair's  "Grave."  Young  Montgomery 
was  delighted  with  what  he  heard,  and  the  poetic  fer- 
vor was  evoked.  He,  too,  could  make  verses ;  and,  be- 
fore he  had  finished  his  tenth  year,  he  had  filled  a 
volume  with  verses  of  his  oavu.  Thenceforward  he  was 
ever  at  it — versifying  on  all  manner  of  subjects,  writing 
hymns  after  the  pattern  of  the  Moravian  Hymn-Book,  and 
attempting  poems,  also,  of  considerable  length.  As  his 
teachers  despaired  of  making  him  a  scholar,  they  put  him, 
at  fifteen,  to  serve  in  a  huckster's  shop,  at  Mirfield,  a  small 
hamlet  in  the  vicinity.  Here,  too,  he  found  time  to  write 
verses.     His  paraphrase  of  the  113tli  Psalm, 

"  Servants  of  God!  in  joyful  lays,"  etc., 

is  said  to  have  been  written  at  this  period. 

On  a  Sunday  morning,  June  19,  1789,  he  took  abrupt 
leave  of  Mirfield,  and,  Abraham -like,  "  went  out  not  know- 
ing whither  he  went."  He  trudged  along,  that  day  and 
the  next,  through  Doncaster  to  Wentwordi.  At  Wath, 
on  the  river  Dearne,  near  the  latter  place,  he  found  em- 
ployment in  a  country  store — still  filling  uj)  his  spare  mo- 
ments with  verse-making.  1  he  village  bookseller  encour- 
aged him  to  make  a  careful  selection  of  his  poetry  for 
publication,  and  forwarded  it  himself  to  a  London  publish- 
er. Montgomery,  well  recommended,  made  his  way,  soon 
after,  to  the  metropolis.  Harrison,  to  whom  his  volume 
had  been  sent,  declined  to  publish  it,  but  gave  its  author 
emplojTnent  as  a  clerk  in  his  store.     Here  he  remained  a 


JAMES  MONTGOMERY.  439 

year,  well  provided  for,  but  thwarted  continually  in  his  re- 
peated attempts  to  appear  in  print.  Disgusted  at  length 
with  the  great  world  of  London,  he  returned  to  Wath, 
and  was  gladly  reinstated  in  his  old  position. 

He  was  now  of  full  age,  and  desirous  to  get  into  some 
profitable  business.  A  clerk  Avas  wanted  at  Sheffield.  His 
eye  lighted  on  the  advertisement.  He  applied,  by  letter, 
for  the  situation,  and  obtained  it,  and  entered  on  his  new 
vocation,  April  2,  1792.  His  employer  was  Joseph  Gales, 
printer,  iDookseller,  auctioneer,  and  editor  of  The  Sheffield 
Register.  He  soon  found  himself  in  full  sympathy  with 
his  radical  employer,  and  espoused  the  cause  of  pop- 
ular rights.  Tlie  French  Revolution  had  created  a  great 
ferment  in  Great  Britain.  The  Government  took  the  alarm, 
and  sought  to  repress  the  agitation.  Persecution  and  im- 
prisonment were  resorted  to.  Mr.  Gales  sought  safety  in 
flight.  He  foimd  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  in  1794,  and, 
for  five  years,  edited  there  the  Independent  Gazette ;  re- 
moving thence,  he  edited,  for  forty  years.  The  Raleigh 
(N.  C.)  Register. 

The  Sheffield  Register  was  changed,  July  14,  1794,  to 
The  Sheffield  Iris,  with  James  Montgomery  as  its  editor. 
Twice  within  a  year  (1795-96),  on  some  flimsy  pretence,  he 
was  prosecuted,  fined,  and  imi^risoned,  but  all  the  more  he 
advocated  the  people's  cause,  and  his  paper  was  increasing- 
ly patronized.  It  was  continued  under  his  editorship  more 
than  thirty  years. 

During  his  incarceration  in  York  Castle,  he  occupied 
himself  considerably  with  the  composition  of  short  poems, 
which  were  published,  in  1797,  under  the  title  of  "  Prison 
Amusements."  "The  Ocean,  and  other  Poems,"  was  issued 
in  1805  ;  followed,  early  in  January,  1806,  by  "  The  AVari- 
derer  of  Switzerland,"  which,  in  spite  of  the  savage  criti- 
cism of  Jefi'rey,  in  the  Edhihurgh  Revieio,  was  received 
with  marked  favor,  12,000  copies  having  been  disposed  of 
in  twenty  years  (besides  several  editions  in  America),  at  a 
profit  of  $4,000  to  the  author.  It  resulted,  also,  in  his  con- 
nection with  the  Eclectic  Review. 


440  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

The  African  Slave  Trade  was,  in  1807,  abolished  by  the 
British  Parliament.  At  the  request  of  Mr.  Bowyer,  of 
Pall  JNIall,  who  was  about  to  publish  a  set  of  engravings 
commemorative  of  the  grand  event,  he  wrote,  the  same 
3^ear,  "  The  AVest  Indies,"  but  it  was  not  brought  out  until 
1810.  Early  in  the  latter  year,  he  had  completed  his 
"World  before  the  Flood,"  which  appeared  "with  other 
Occasional  Pieces,"  in  1813. 

Montgomery  had,  for  years,  been  deei)ly  interested  in  re- 
ligion and  its  enterprises.  He  now  determined  to  identify 
himself  openly  and  fully  with  the  disciples  of  Christ.  At 
the  close  of  the  year  1814,  he  was  publicly  recognized,  at 
Fulneck,  as  a  brother  in  the  Lord,  and  a  member  of  the 
Society.  It  was,  in  all  probability,  on  this  occasion  that 
he  wrote  his  beautiful  and  popular  hymn,  beginning  with 

' '  People  of  the  living  God ! " 

He  now  took  an  active  part  in  the  promotion  of  Sunday- 
Schools,  Bible  and  Tract  Societies,  and  the  work  of  Mis- 
sions. An  appeal  in  behalf  of  the  Moravian  missions  in 
Greenland  appeared  (1818)  in  the  columns  of  his  paper. 
So  deeply  had  he  l^ecome  interested  in  this  enter^Drise,  as 
to  be  impelled  to  write  and  publish,  in  1819,  his  "  Green- 
land," a  missionary  poem. 

He  had  iDublished,  in  1817,  his  "  Thoughts  on  Wheels,"  a 
philippic  against  lotteries ;  and  the  "  Climbing  Boy's  So- 
liloquies," an  appeal  for  the  Chimney  Sweepers.  His 
"  Songs  of  Zion,  being  Imitations  of  the  Psalms,"  came 
out  in  1822,  containing  72  versions,  among  which  are  some 
of  the  sweetest  and  best  sacred  lyrics  in  the  language. 
They  had  been  composed  at  intervals  during  the  previous 
thirty  years,  but  more  particularly  since  1807,  about  which 
time,  being  in  deep  distress  for  sin,  he  is  supposed  to  have 
■v\Titten  the  hymn, — 

"  Oh!  where  shall  rest  he  found,"  etc. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1825,  he  published  "The  Christian 
Psahnist ;  or  Hymns  Selected  and  Original,"  and,  in  1826 


JAMES  MONTGOMERY,  441 

"Tlie  Christian  Poet ;  Selections  in  Yerse,"— both  of  which 
were  "compiled  by  him  for  Mr.  [Wm.]  Collins,  of  Glas- 
gow," The  Psalmist  contained  562  hymns,  103  of  which 
are  from  his  own  pen.  A  seventh  edition  had  been  called 
for  in  1832.  "  The  Christian  Poet "  "  comprehended  pieces 
of  a  higher  order,  ....  laying  claim  to  the  gennine  honors 
of  verse,  as  the  noblest  vehicle  of  the  noblest  thoughts." 
To  each  of  these  was  prefixed  an  "  Introductory  Essay,"  of 
peculiar  value.  "  Prose  by  a  Poet,"  taken  mainly  from  his 
editorials  in  TTie  Sheffield  Iris,  was  issued  in  1824. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1825,  Montgomery  retired' 
from  the  editorship  of  The  Iris.  He  had  now  a  suffi- 
cient income  from  his  various  publications,  and  was  glad 
to  be  relieved  from  the  incessant  pressure  of  thirty  years, 
that  he  might  give  himself  to  those  ministrations  of 
mercy  in  which  he  so  much  delighted.  "The  Pelican 
Island,"  a  poem,  in  blank  verse,  one  of  the  most  original, 
imaginative,  philosophical,  and  truly  poetic  of  his  larger 
pieces,  appeared  in  1827.  At  the  solicitation  of  the  "  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society,"  he  undertook  to  recompose,  from 
Journals  and  other  memoranda,  a  "Journal  of  the  Voyages 
and  Travels  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Tyerman,  and  George  Ben- 
net,  Esq.,"  as  a  Deputation  of  the  Society  to  their  various 
Missions  in  the  East  (1821-1829).  The  work,  which  cost 
the  editor  great  labor,  was  published  June  1,  1831,  in  two 
volumes,  and  republished  the  next  year,  at  Boston,  Mass. 

In  May,  1830,  he  delivered  a  course  of  Lectures  on  Eng- 
lish Literature,  before  the  "  Royal  Institution,"  and  another 
course  on  "General  Literature,  Poetry,"  etc.,  the  year  fol- 
lowing. These  were  given  to  the  press,  both  in  London 
and  New  York,  in  1833,  and  were  received  with  great 
favor.  Two  years  later,  he  sent  forth  "A  Poet's  Portfolio  ; 
or  Minor  Poems— In  three  Books."  The  same  year,  Sir 
Robert  Peel  placed  his  name  on  the  pension  list  of  the 
Literary  Fund,  for  £150  a  year,  as  a  reward  for  literary 
services.  He  now  gathered,  revised,  and  arranged  his  "  Po- 
etical Works,"  which  he  published  (1836)  in  three  volumea 
—an  edition  of  which  not  long  after  appeared  in  America. 


442  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

He  had  liA^ed  forty-three  years  in  the  central  part  of 
Sheffield,  in  a  locality  known  as  "Hartshead,"  over  the 
book-store  kept  by  the  Misses  Gales,  sisters  of  Joseph,  and 
the  place  of  publication  of  Tlie  Iris ;  the  sisters  had  been 
members  of  his  household.  He  now  removed,  with  the  two 
surviving  sisters  (1836),  to  "  a  new  home  at '  The  Mount,'  " 
a  block  of  newly  erected  houses,  beautifully  situated  on  a 
swell  of  land  skirting  the  south  side  of  the  city. 

The  next  year,  he  again  lectured  at  the  Royal  Institu- 
tion, and  delivered  a  course  on  "  The  Principal  British 
Poets."  In  1838,  he  repeated  the  lectures  before  the  Phi- 
losophical Society  at  Bristol ;  also,  at  Birmingham,  and  at 
Worcester.  In  1849,  he  published  a  new  edition,  thor- 
oughly revised,  of  the  Moravian  Hymn-Book,  containing 
1,260  hymns.  His  last  work  was  the  publication,  February 
1,  1853,  of  his  "  Original  Hymns  for  Public,  Social,  and 
Private  Devotion." 

A  slight  paraljdiic  stroke  early  in  1849,  followed  by  an 
illness  of  three  months,  had  greatly  reduced  his  strength 
and  impaired  his  vitality.  A  second  stroke,  on  the  night 
of  the  29th  of  April,  1854,  deprived  him  of  all  conscious- 
ness, and,  on  the  afternoon  of  Sunday,  the  30th,  of  life 
itself.     He  was  spared  the  pains  and  terrors  of  death  : 

"  Heard  ye  the  sobs  of  parting  breath  ? 
Marked  ye  the  eye's  last  ray  ? 
No ! — life  so  sweetly  ceased  to  be, 
It  lapsed  in  immortality." 

He  died  in  his  eighty-third  year,  and  was  honored  with  a 
public  funeral,  the  whole  town,  as  it  were,  taking  part  in 
the  ceremonial,  and  testifying  thus  to  the  greatness  of  their 
loss.  Like  Watts  and  Cowper,  both  of  whom  he  greatly 
admired  as  Christian  lyrists,  he  never  married. 

"  Father  of  eternal  grace  I "  etc., 

appeared  CI 808)  in  W.  Gardiner's  "  Sacred  Melodies."  Tliat 
beautiful  and  stirring  hymn,  beginning  with 

'*  Hark  I  the  song  of  Jubilee," 


JAMES  MONTGOMERY.  443 

was  "  composed  for  the  Anniversary  of  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety, and  sung  at  the  Spa  Fields  Chapel,  May  14, 1818." 
It  was  published  in  the  July  Number  of  the  Ei^angeUcal 
Magazine,  for  1818.  He  was  associated  with  the  Eev. 
Thomas  Cotterill,  of  St.  Paul's,  Sheffield,  in  the  compila- 
tion of  an  enlarged  edition  (1819)  of  his  "Selection  of 
Psalms  and  Hymns  for  the  Use  of  St.  Paul's  and  St.  James' 
Churches,  Sheffield,"  to  which  he  contributed  about  sixty 
original  hymns.    Among  them  is  found, 

"  Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire,"  etc. 

The  Rev.  Edward  H.  Bickersteth,  in  the  Notes  to  his 
"  Hymnal  Companion,"  says  :  "  This  hymn  was  written  by 
J.  Montgomery  (1818)  at  the  request  of  the  late  Rev.  E. 
Bickersteth,  for  his  Treatise  on  Prayer,"  printed  "  at  the 
close  of  the  year  1818." 
That  beautiful  paraphrase  of  the  72d  Psalm, 

"  HaU  to  tlie  Lord's  Anointed  I "  etc., 

was  introduced  by  him,  at  the  close  of  a  speech,  on  the 

occasion  of  a  missionary  meeting  in  the  Wesleyan  Chapel, 

Liverpool,  April  14, 1822,  and  was  included  with  his  other 

paraphrases,  in  his  "  Songs  of  Zion,"  published  the  same 

year. 

"  Go  to  dark  Gethsemane,"  etc., 

is  traced  to  the  Leeds  Selection,  published  in  1822.  One 
of  his  latest  effusions  was  prepared  for  a  Bible  Society 
meeting,  at  Sheffield,  November  13,  1848,  and  is  full  of 
beautiful  turns  of  thought  and  expression : 

"  The  sunbeams,  infinitely  small, 

In  nurabers  numberless. 
Reveal,  pervade,  illumine  all 

Nature's  void  wilderness : 
But,  meeting  worlds  upon  then*  way. 

Wrapt  in  primeval  night, 
Tn  language  without  sound,  they  say 

To  each — '  God  sends  you  light ! ' 


444  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Anon,  with  beauty,  life  and  love, 

Those  wandering  planets  glow, 
And  shine  themselves  as  stars  above, 

On  gazers  from  below. 
Oh !  could  the  first  archangel's  eye, 

In  everlasting  space, 
Thi'ough  all  the  mazes  of  the  sky 

A  single  svmbeam  trace. 
He  might  behold  that  lovely  one 

Its  destiny  fulfil, 
As  punctual  as  the  parent  sun 

Performs  its  Maker's  will. 
The  Sun  of  righteousness  with  rays 

Of  uncreated  light. 
His  power  and  glory  thus  displays. 

Through  Nature's  darkest  night. 
Rays  from  that  Sun  of  righteousness 

Our  humble  missiles  dart: 
Mighty  at  once  to  wound  and  bless, 

To  break  and  bmd  the  heart. 
And  could  the  first  archangel's  sight 

The  least  of  these  pursue, 
He  might  record,  in  its  brief  flight, 

Each  had  a  work  to  do." 


HENRY  MOORE. 

1732-1802. 

Hettey  Moore  was  an  Arian  pastor  in  the  West  of  Eng- 
land. His  father,  whose  name  he  bore,  and  whose  faith  he 
espoused,  was  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Plymouth,  England.  His  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Will- 
iam Bellew,  of  Stockleigh  Court,  Devonshire.  He  was  born 
at  Plymouth,  March  30, 1732,  and  received  his  rudimentary 
education  from  his  father.  At  an  early  age,  he  was  sent  to 
the  grammar-school  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bedford,  afterwards 
the  Vicar  of  King  Charles  the  Martyr's  Church,  Plymouth. 
In  1749,  he  entered  the  Academy  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dodd- 


HENRY  MOORE.  445 

ridge,  at  IS'ortliampton,  where  lie  remained  six  yeais.  At 
the  decease  of  Doddridge  (1751)  lie  wrote  an  elegiac  poem 
in  affectionate  memory  of  his  revered  teacher,  which  was 
published,  and  spoken  of  as  "  a  tribute  of  elegant  fancy 
and  warm  affection."  The  Academy  was  conducted,  dur- 
ing his  last  three  years  of  study,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ash- 
worth. 

On  leaving  the  Academy,  he  was  chosen  (1756)  the  min- 
ister of  a  congregation  at  Dulverton,  Somersetshire ;  and 
the  following  year,  he  became  the  pastor  of  a  Dissenting 
congregation  at  Modbury,  where,  in  the  quiet  performance 
of  his  ministerial  duties,  he  continued  thirty  years  and 
more.  After  the  publication  (1780)  of  Madan's  "Tlielyp- 
thora,"  he  published,  anonymously,  a  reply  to  the  obnox- 
ious theory,  characterized  by  "much  humor  and  vivacity." 
He  removed,  in  1788,  to  the  romantic  to\\^l  of  Liskeard, 
among  the  tin  mines  of  Cornwall,  where,  in  charge  of  a 
Dissenting  congregation,  he  passed  the  remaining  years  of 
his  uneventful  life.  He  died  unmarried,  November  2, 1802, 
in  his  seventy-first  year. ' 

He  was  mild  and  gentle  in  manners,  and  performed  his 
duties  in  great  contentment,  thankfulness,  and  humility. 
Endowed  with  poetip  talents,  quite  superior,  he  was  scarcely 
known  to  the  outside  world.  His  critical  abilities,  also, 
were  of  a  high  order,  as  appears  from  his  large  contribu- 
tions to  the  two  volumes  of  "  Commentaiies  and  Essays," 
published  by  the  "  Society  for  Promoting  the  Knowledge 
of  the  Scriptures."  In  1795,  at  the  solicitation  of  his 
nephew,  a  surgeon  at  Plymouth,  he  published,  in  twenty 
pages  4to,  "  Private  Life,  a  Moral  Rhapsody,  written  at  a 
Gentleman's  Country  Residence," — "a  very  spirited  and 
beautiful  poem."  He  was,  also,  induced,  the  last  year  of 
his  life,  to  prepare  a  manuscript  volume  of  his  poems  for 
publication.  In  consequence  of  a  paralytic  affection,  result- 
ing in  the  author's  death,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Aiken  kindly  under- 
took to  carry  the  volume  through  the  press.  It  was  issued 
the  following  year  (1803)  with  the  title,—"  Poems,  Lyrical 
and  Miscellaneous." 


446  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

THOMAS   MOORE. 
1779-1852. 

The  Sacred  Songs  of  Thomas  Moore  are  thirty-two  in 
number.  Some  of  them  are  so  beautiful,  as  to  occasion 
regret  that  they  bear  such  a  small  proportion  to  the  songs, 
and  sonnets,  and  poems,  that  are  found  in  his  works : — re- 
gret that  one  so  gifted  with  the  true  poetic  afflatus,  should 
have  prostituted  his  rare  talents  to  such  unworthy  purposes. 
As  a  man  of  jDleasure,  without  the  least  apparent  experience 
of  true  godliness,  he  scarcely  deserves  a  place  among  the 
poets  of  the  Christian  Church. 

He  was  a  native  of  Dublin,  of  humble  origin,  and  bom 
May  28, 1779.  He  was  precocious ;  of  marked  promise  at 
an  early  age  ;  his  mother's  pride,  and  much  indebted  to  her 
teachings.  At  fourteen,  he  found  a  jDlace  for  his  verse  in  a 
Dublin  Magazine,  called  The  Anthologia  Hihernica.  Long 
before  this,  he  had  begun  "to  act*,  sing,  and  rhyme."  The 
famous  Samuel  Whyte  was  his  school-master.  Early  in 
1794,  he  had  begun  his  translation  of  the  Odes  of  Anac- 
reon.  In  the  summer  of  the  same  year,  he  entered  Trin- 
ity College,  Dublin,  graduating  in  1798.  In  his  twentieth 
year  (1799),  he  left  Ireland,  came  to  London,  and  entered 
himself  a  student  of  law,  at  the  Middle  Temple. 

He  published  the  "Odes  of  Anacreon  translated  into 
English  Verse  with  ]N"otes,"  by  subscription,  in  1800.  The 
next  year,  he  issued  what  purported  to  be  "Tlie  Poetical 
Works  of  the  late  Thomas  Little,"  his  own  "Juvenile 
Poems,"  as  they  are  called,  expurgated,  in  his  "Works." 
In  1803,  he  sent  forth  "A  Candid  Appeal  to  Public  Confi- 
dence"; and,  the  same  year,  was  appointed  Registrar  of 
the  Admiralty  Court  in  Bermuda.  Resigning  his  post  to  a 
deputy  at  the  end  of  fourteen  months,  he  left  Bermuda,  and 
made  a  tour  of  the  United  States.  He  returned  home  in 
1806,  and  published  his  "  Epistles,  Odes,  and  other  Poems," 
mostly  relating  to  America.     "  Corruption,  a  Poetic  Epis- 


THOMAS  MOOEE.  447 

tie,"  and  "  Intolerance,  a  Satire,"  appeared  in  1808,  followed 
by  "The  Sceptic,  a  PMlosopMcal  Satire,"  in  1809— none  oi 
wMcli  were  successful. 

For  several  years,  he  led  a  life  of  gaiety,  at  London  and 
Dublin  ;  and,  March  25,  1811,  he  married  Bessy  Dyke,  one 
of  the  actresses  of  a  private  theatre  at  Kilkenny,  where 
he  himself  had  taken  part  in  the  performances.  After 
a  shoi-t  residence  in  London,  he  took  a  house  at  Keg- 
worth,  Leicestershire,  near  the  seat  of  his  patron,  the  Earl 
of  Moira.  "  M.  P.,  or  the  Blue  Stocking ;  a  Comic  Opera," 
appeared  in  1811.  The  next  year,  he  brought  out  his  ex- 
ceedingly popular  "Intercepted  Letters  ;  or  The  Twopenny 
Post  Bag,"  a  series  of  political  squibs.  He  now  removed 
(1813)  to  Ashbourne,  Derbyshire,  where  he  resided  four 
years.  The  first  instalment  of  his  "Irish  j\Ielodies,"  the 
most  popular  of  aU  his  works,  appeared  in  1813  ;  his  "  Na- 
tional Melodies,"  in  1815  ;  his  "  Sacred  Songs,"  in  1816 ; 
and  "Lalla  Rookh  ;  an  Oriental  Romance,"  in  1817,  shortly 
after  his  removal  to  Hornsey,  in  Middlesex. 

After  a  trip  with  the  poet  Rogers  to  Paris,  he  published, 
in  1818,  "The  Fudge  Family  in  Paris,"  and,  the  same  year, 
an  edition  of  Sheridan's  Dramatic  Works.  "Tom  Crib's 
Memorial  to  Congress  "  came  out  in  1819.  Soon  after  his 
return  from  Paris,  he  had,  on  the  invitation  of  the  Marquis 
of  Lansdowne,  taken  up  his  abode  at  Sloperton  Cottage, 
near  Bowood,  Wiltshire.  The  deputy  whom  he  had  left  in 
charge  of  his  office  at  Bermuda  proving  false,  he  became 
liable  to  the  extent  of  £6,000,  and,  to  avoid  an  attachment 
on  his  property,  he  repaired  (September,  1819)  to  Paris, 
thence  travelled  with  Lord  John  Russell  to  Italy,  and,  as 
the  result,  Avrote  his  "Rhymes  on  the  Road."  He  also 
visited  Lord  Byron  (with  whom  he  was  on  terms  of  great 
intimacy)  at  Venice ;  and  while  there  wrote  his  "  Fables 
for  the  Holy  Alliance."  These  two  productions,  as  also 
"  The  Loves  of  the  Angels,"  were  published  in  1823.  He 
returned  home  the  same  year,  the  claim  against  him  having 
been  reduced  to  1,000  guineas,  and  liquidated  in  1822. 
Other  publications  now  followed:  "Miscellaneous  Poems"; 


448  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

"  Memoirs  of  Captain  Rock "  (1824) ;  "  Memoirs  of  Sheri- 
dan" (1825);  "The  Epicurean;  a  Title"  (1827);  "Letters 
and  Journals  of  Lord  Byron,  with  Notices  of  his  Life" 
(1830);  "The  Life  of  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald"  (1831); 
"The  Summer  Fete"  (1831) ;  "Travels  of  an  Irish  Gentle- 
man in  search  of  a  Religion  "  (1833) ;  and  his  "  History  of 
Ireland  "  (1835),  written  for  Lardner's  "  Cabinet  Cyclopaedia." 
The  same  year,  a  civil-list  i)ension  of  £300  was  granted  him. 
In  1841-42,  he  published  his  poetical  works,  in  ten  volumes. 
His  declining  years  were  much  clouded  with  affliction.  He 
died,  after  three  years  of  mental  imbecility,  at  Sloperton 
Cottage,  February  26,  1852,  in  his  seventy-third  year. 

His  "Memoirs,  Journal,  and  Correspondence,  edited  by 
the  Right  Honorable  Lord  John  Russell,"  appeared  (1853- 
5Q)  in  eight  volumes.  Moore  was  full  of  the  poetic  spirit. 
He  wrote  with  wonderful  ease,  and  often  with  remarkable 
sweetness.  "  Of  all  the  song- writers,"  says  Prof.  Wilson, 
"that  ever  warbled,  or  chanted,  or  sung,  the  best,  in  our 
estimation,  is  verily  none  other  than  Thomas  Moore.  His 
'  Irish  Melodies '  are  full  of  true  feeling  and  delicacy ; 
they  are  musical  almost  beyond  parallel  in  words — grace- 
ful in  thought  and  sentiment — often  tender,  pathetic,  and 
heroic,  equally  the  delight  of  the  cottage  and  the  saloon." 
Moore  was  a  musician  as  well  as  a  poet,  and  sang  his  own 
songs  with  a  spirit  and  life  that  charmed  the  circles  of  the 
great  and  noble,  where  he  was  a  welcome  visitor.  The  fol- 
lowing specimen  is  from  his  "  Sacred  Songs"  (1816"* : 

"  Since  first  thy  word  awaked  my  heart, 

Like  new  life  dawning  o'er  me, 
Where'er  I  turn  mine  eyes,  Thou  art, 

All  light  and  love  before  me ; 
Naught  else  I  feel,  or  hear,  or  see, — 

All  bonds  of  earth  I  sever; 
Thee,  O  God !  and  only  thee 

I  live  for,  now  and  ever. 

"  Like  him  whose  fetters  dropped  away, 
When  light  shone  o'er  his  prison, 
My  spirit,  touched  by  Mercy's  ray. 
Hath  from  her  chains  arisen : 


THOMAS  MORELL.  449 

And  shall  a  soul,  Thou  bidd'st  be  free, 

Return  to  bondage  ? — Never  1 
Thee,  O  God !  and  only  thee 

I  live  for,  now  and  ever." 


THOMAS  MORELL. 

1781-1840. 

The  Academy  over  whicli  the  Rev.  Dr.  Doddridge  so 
ably  presided  at  Northampton,  England,  about  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  was,  by  a  series  of  mutations,  trans- 
ferred at  length  to  the  city  of  London,  and  placed  in  con- 
nection v/ith  the  University  of  London,  by  the  name  of 
Coward  College,  being  located  in  Byng  Place,  Torrington 
Square,  near  the  University.  The  Rev.  Tliomas  Morell 
had,  in  1821,  become  the  successor  of  Dr.  Doddridge,  as 
Theological  Tutor. 

Prof.  Morell  was,  as  his  name  would  indicate,  of  Hugue- 
not origin,  his  ancestors  having  fled  to  England,  from  Pa- 
pal persecution,  in  the  seventeenth  century.  He  was  born 
(1781)  at  Maldon,  Essex,  and  was  educated  by  his  two  broth- 
ers, Rev.  John  Morell,  LL.D.,  and  Rev.  Stephen  Morell, 
and  subsequently  at  Homerton  College,  near  London,  un- 
der the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Pye  Smith.  In  1801, 
he  became  the  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  of  St. 
Neot's,  a  considerable  market- town,  on  the  Ouse.  Faithful 
in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  as  a  preacher  and  a  pas- 
tor, he  found  time  for  literary  pursuits,  the  fruit  of  which 
appeared  in  "  Studies  in  History,  in  a  Series  of  Essaj^s,  ac- 
companied with  Reflections,  References  to  Original  Au- 
thorities, and  Historical  Exercises  for  Youth."  The  first, 
containing  "  The  History  of  Greece,  from  its  earliest  Period 
to  its  final  Subjugation  by  the  Romans,"  appeared  in  1813. 
The  second,  being  "  The  History  of  Rome,  from  its  earliest 
29 


450  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Records  to  the  Death  of  Constantine,"  followed  in  1815, 
Two  volumes,  on  "  The  History  of  England,  from  the  ear- 
liest Records  to  the  Death  of  George  III.,"  were  issued  in 
1818  and  1820.  He  published,  also  (1809),  "  The  Christian 
Pastor  ;  a  Poem.  In  three  Books,"  and  several  Occasional 
Sermons. 

After  a  successful  ministry  of  twenty  years,  he  was  ap- 
pointed (1821)  as  successor  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Atkinson,  the 
President  of  Wymondley  College,  Hertfordshire.  In  1827, 
he  published  "  Elements  of  the  History  of  Philosophy  and 
Science," — an  abstract,  mainly,  of  the  Histories  of  Stanley 
and  Enfield.  The  College,  in  the  autumn  of  1833,  was  re- 
moved to  London,  and  was,  thenceforth,  called  "Coward 
College,"  in  honor  of  its  munificent  patron.  Mr,  Morell 
continued  to  preside  over  it  with  great  credit  to  himself 
and  advantage  to  the  Institution,  until  1839,  when  his 
health  was  seriously  impaired.  He  lingered  nearly  a  year, 
much  of  the  time  in  severe  pain,  borne  with  the  utmost 
resignation  and  Christian  patience  ;  and,  March  25, 1840,  he 
departed  this  life,  sincerely  and  universally  lamented.  He 
was  held  in  high  esteem  for  piety,  talents,  and  ability,  by 
the  Dissenting  ministry  and  churches.  He  had,  shortly 
before  his  last  illness,  intimated  his  intention  to  retire  from 
the  presidency  of  the  College,  and  to  prepare  for  the  press 
"  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Times  of  Doddridge,"  for  which 
he  was  eminently  qualified. 

The  hymns  beginning 

"  Father  of  mercies !  condescend," 
and 

"  Gro,  and  the  Saviour's  grace  proclaim," 

are  found  in  the  December  Number  of  the  London  Evan- 
gelical Magazine,  for  1818.  They  were  "composed  for  a 
Missionary  Ordination  Service,  and  sung  at  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Morell's  Chapel,  St.  Neot's,  October  28, 1818,  at  the  Ordi- 
nation of  Mr,  C[harles]  Mault,  Missionary  to  India," — and 
a  member  of  Mr.  Morell's  church.  He  wrote  several  other 
hysnns  on  special  occasions,  besides  an  Elegy  on  the  Death 


JOHN  MOREISON.  451 

of  the  Princess  Charlotte  (1817).    The  following  lines  are 
from  the  third  Book  of  his  "Christian  Pastor": 

"  Come,  but  with  hallowed  feet  approach,  and  view 
The  Christian  Pastor's  death.     His  end  is  peace. 
Ah !  with  what  silent  eloquence  it  pleads 
The  cause  of  Truth,  flashing  conviction's  glare 
E'en  on  the  haughtiest,  boldest  infidel ! 
What  tranquil  pleasures  sit  upon  his  brow, 
"Where  slowly  trickles  the  cold  sweat  of  death ! 
What  sacred  raptures,  what  immortal  joys, 
Burst  from  his  lips,  and  sparkle  in  his  eye ! " 


JOHN  MORRISON. 

1749-1798. 

A  committee,  of  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hugh  Blair,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Morrison,  the  Rev.  John  Logan,  and  the 
Rev.  William  Cameron,  were  members,  was  appointed  (1775) 
by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  to  re- 
vise the  "  Translations  and  Paraphrases,"  attached  to  the 
Old  Version  of  "The  Psalms  of  David  in  Metre."  Six 
years  later  (1781),  the  Paraphrases  were  published  in  their 
present  form  (67  in  number),  with  five  hymns.  The  Para- 
phrases 19,  21,  27,  28,  29,  30,  and  35,  are  attributed  to  Dr. 
Morrison,  either  in  whole  or  in  part. 

Dr.  Morrison  was  born  (1749)  in  Aberdeenshire,  Scotland. 
After  the  usual  educational  and  theological  course  of  study, 
his  "  Trials  "  were  sustained  by  his  Presbytery,  and  he  was 
ordained  (1780)  the  pastor  of  the  parish  of  Canisbay,  Caith- 
ness-shire, where  he  continued  until  his  death,  June  12, 1798, 
in  his  fiftieth  year.  His  scholarship  brought  him  from 
the  University  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  He  was  a  fre- 
quent contributor,  as  "  Musseus,"  to  the  poetic  columns  of 
the  Edinburgh  Weekly  Magazine.  He  published  (1787) 
an  English  version  of  the  second  and  fourth  Books  of  Vir- 
gU's  ^neid. 


452  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

WILLIAM  AUGUSTUS  MUHLENBERO. 

1796-1877. 

De.  MuHLEisTBERG  was  of  German  descent,  and  Lutheran 
lineage.  His  grandfather,  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlen- 
berg, D.D.  [1711-1787],  of  Eimbeck,  Hanover,  was  the  pa- 
triarch of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America.  He  came  to 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  as  a  missionary,  in  1742,  but  late  in 
Life  resided  at  the  Trappe,  Montgomery  Co.,  Pa.  His 
"Life  and  Times,"  by  M.  L.  Stoever,  has  been  published 
by  the  Lutheran  Board  of  Publication. 

He  had  three  sons,  all  of  whom  became  clergymen :  John 
Peter  Gabriel  [1746-1807],  Frederick  Augustus  [1750-1801], 
and  Gotthilf  Henry  Ernst  [1753-1815].  They  were  sent  to 
Gennany,  in  1762,  to  be  educated.  Peter  obtained  orders 
(1772)  in  the  Church  of  England,  and,  on  his  return  to 
America,  oiSciated  awhile  ;  but,  on  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  entered  the  army,  and  eventually  be- 
came a  Major-General  of  the  Revolutionary  Army,  a  Rep- 
resentative and  Senator  of  the  U.  S.,  and  Collector  of  the 
Port  of  Philadelphia.  Frederick  was  ordained  in  Germany, 
officiated  as  a  Lutheran  minister  in  Philadelphia  and  New 
York,  entered  Congress,  and  became  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  the  First  Congress,  and  again 
in  the  Third.  Henry  was  pastor  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
of  Lancaster,  Pa.,  from  1780,  until  his  death  in  1815. 

William  Augustus  was  the  son  of  .Frederick  Augustus, 
and  was  born,  September  16, 1796,  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.  He 
was  educated  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadel- 
phia, where  he  graduated  in  1814.  After  a  suitable  prepara- 
tion, he  was  ordained  (1817)  a  deacon,  by  Bishop  Wliite,  of 
Philadelphia.  Three  years  later,  he  was  ordained  to  the 
priesthood,  and,  in  1823,  became  the  Associate  Rector  of 
St.  James'  Church,  Lancaster,  and  St.  John's,  Pequea,  Pa. 
The  same  year  he  published,  "  Church  Poetry :  being  Por- 
tions of  the  Psalms  in  Verse,  and  Hymns  suited  to  the 


WILLIAM  AUGUSTUS  MUHLENBERG.  453 

Festivals  and  Fasts  and  various  Occasions  of  the  Church  ; 
selected  and  arranged  from  various  Authors."  He  removed, 
in  1826,  to  Flushing,  N.  Y.,  and  founded  the  Flushing  In- 
stitute, afterwards  known  as  St.  Paul's  College,  —  over 
which  he  presided,  with  great  success,  for  siKteen  years. 
At  the  same  time,  he  held  the  Rectorship  of  St.  George's 
Church,  Flushing. 

In  1846,  he  became  the  Rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Communion,  New  York,  which  position  he  retained  until 
1859.  In  1855,  with  great  labor  and  unwearied  assiduity, 
he  founded  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  New  York,  and  was  its 
Pastor  and  Superintendent  until  his  death, — "the  most 
devoted  servant,  day  and  night,  within  its  kindly  walls. " 
He  founded,  also,  in  1865,  St.  Johnland,  a  home  for  various 
classes  of  the  needy.  He  died,  Sunday,  April  8,  1877,  in 
his  eighty-first  year.  He  was  honored  (1834)  by  Columbia 
College,  New  York,  with  the  degree  of  D.D. 

Dr.  Muhlenberg  developed  much  taste  and  skill  as  a 
musical  composer.  In  conjunction  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jon- 
athan M.  WaiuAvright  (afterwards  Bishop),  he  published 
(1828)  "Music  of  the  Church,"  to  accompany  the  New 
Episcopal  Selection  of  Psalms  and  Hymns.  He  edited, 
also,  in  whole  or  in  part,  at  various  times  :  "  A  Chant  Book 
for  the  Church  ";  "  The  People's  Psalter  ";  and  "  The  Choir 
and  Family  Psalter";  also,  in  1859,  as  Chairman  of  a  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  House  of  Bishops,  a  "  Tune  Book 
for  the  Use  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church." 

He  published  (1853),  "  Letters  on  Protestant  Sisterhoods  "; 
and  sent  forth,  on  several  occasions,  valuable  sermons  and 
religious  pamphlets  ;  but,  as  an  author,  he  is  chiefly  known 
by  his  popular  hymn,  beginning  with 

"I  would  not  live  alway, — I  ask  not  to  stay," 

It  first  appeared,  anonymously,  June  3,  1826,  in  the  Epis- 
copal Recorder  of  Philadelphia,  in  six  double  stanzas.  It 
was  abridged  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  U.  Onderdonk,  and 
in  this  form  incorporated  into  the  New  Selection  of  Hymns 
adopted  by  the  General  Convention  of  the  Episcopal  Church 


454  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

of  tliat  year.     The  following,  also,  is  from  the  pen  of  Dr 
Muhlenberg : 

"  Saviour!  who  thy  flock  art  feeding-, 

With  the  shepherd's  kindest  care, 
All  the  feeble  gently  leading, 

While  the  lambs  thy  bosom  share ; 
Now,  these  little  ones  receiving, 

Fold  them  in  thy  gracious  arm ; 
There,  we  know,  thy  word  believing. 

Only  thei'e  secure  from  harm. 

"  Never,  from  thy  pasture  roving, 

Let  them  be  the  hon's  prey ; 
Let  thy  tenderness,  so  loving, 

Keep  them  all  life's  dangerous  way: 
Then,  within  thy  fold  eternal. 

Let  them  find  a  resting  place, 
Feed  in  pastm^es  ever  vernal, 

Drink  the  rivei's  of  thy  grace." 


JOHN  MASON  NEALE. 

1818-1866. 

Dr.  Neale  was  a  native  of  London,  England,  and  the 
son  of  the  Rev.  Cornelius  Neale.  He  was  born  Janu- 
ary 24,  1818,  and  was  educated  at  Trinity  College,  Cam- 
bridge, where  he  graduated,  A.B.,  1840,  and  A.M.,  1845. 
He  was  distinguished  for  his  poetic  gifts,  and  his  attain- 
ments in  the  languages,  ancient  and  modern.  Repeatedly 
he  obtained  the  prize  for  the  best  sacred  poem  in  English. 
He  was  ordained  deacon  in  1841,  and  priest  in  1842.  The 
same  year  (1842),  he  married  Sarah  Norman,  a  daughter  of 
Rev.  Thomas  Webster,  B.D.  In  May,  1846,  he  was  ap- 
pointed the  Warden  of  Sackville  College,  East  Grinstead, 
Sussex, — a  position  that  he  held  through  life. 

His  antiquarian  and  ritualistic  tastes  were  early  devel- 


JOHN  MASON  NEALE.  455 

oped.  In  1841,  lie  published,  •'  The  History  of  Pews :  A 
Paper  read  before  the  Cambridge  Camden  Society";  in 
1842,  "Herbert  Ti-esham,  a  Tale  of  the  Great  Rebellion"; 
and  in  1843,  "  Agnes  de  Tracey,  a  Tale  of  the  Times  of  St. 
Thomas  of  Canterbury";  "Ayton  Priory";  "Hierologus, 
or  the  Church  Tourists";  and  a  Translation  of  Bishop  Du- 
randas'  Work  on  "  The  Symbolism  of  Churches  and  Church 
Ornaments."  He  had  now  become  a  very  active  member  of 
the  Ecclesiological  Society,  and  eagerly  prosecuted  studies 
of  that  description.  "  Shepperton  Manor,  a  Tale  of  the  Time 
of  Bishop  Andrewes,"  appeared  in  1844,  and  a  Letter  "  On 
Private  Devotion  in  Churches";  in  1845,  "A  Mirror  of 
Faith  :  Lays  and  Legends  of  the  Church  in  England  ";  and 
in  1846,  "Annals  of  Yirgin  Saints";  "The  Loosing  of  the 
Euphratean  Angels,"  a  prize  poem  ;  and  "  The  Triumphs  of 
the  Cross." 

These  smaller  works  (the  enumeration  of  which  is  chiefly 
of  importance  as  showing  the  drift  of  his  studies)  were  fol- 
lowed, in  1847,  by  a  work  of  sterling  value, — "  A  History  of 
the  Holy  Eastern  Church.— A  History  of  the  Patriarchate 
of  Alexandria,"  in  two  volumes ;  also,  the  same  year, 
"Stories  from  the  Heathen  Mythology";  in  1848,  by 
"  Ecclesiological  Notes  on  the  Isle  of  Man,  Sutherland,  and 
the  Orkneys";  and,  in  1849,  by  "Few  Words  of  Hope  on 
the  present  Crisis  of  the  English  Church."  The  "  Victories 
of  the  Saints,"  and  "  Readings  for  the  Aged "  (for  whom 
Sackville  College  was  instituted),  followed  in  1850  ;  "  Even- 
ings at  SackviUe  CoUege,"  and  "  Lectures  on  Church  Diffi- 
culties," in  1851. 

His  "Mediaeval  Hymns  and  Sequences,"  published  in 
1852,  attracted  much  attention,  and  furnished  material  for 
several  excellent  and  popular  hymns;  also,  his  "Hymni 
Ecclesise."  He  had  previously,  at  various  times,  issued,  in 
three-penny  tracts  :  "  Hymns  for  the  Young  ";  "  Hymns  for 
Children,"  in  two  series;  "Hymns  for  the  Sick";  "Songs 
for  the  People";  and  "Songs  and  Ballads  for  Manufactu- 
rers." His  remaining  works  are  as  follows:  "Pilgrim's 
Progress  for  the   Use  of  the   Children   of  the  English 


456  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

ChurcV'  and  "Carols  for  Christmas-Tide"  (1853);  "A 
Hand-book  for  Travellers  in  Portugal "  (1855) ;  "  The  Life 
and  Times  of  Bishop  Torry  "  (1856.) ;  "  Theodora  Phranza : 
a  Tale  of  the  Fall  of  Constantinople,"  and  "Mediaeval 
Preachers,  and  Mediaeval  Preaching "  (1857) ;  "  A  History 
of  the  So-Called  Jansenist  Church  of  Holland  "  (1858) ;  "  A 
Commentary  on  the  Psalms,  from  Primitive  and  Mediaeval 
Writers "  (1860) ;  "  Hymns  of  the  Eastern  Church,"  and 
"Essays  on  Liturgiology  and  Church  History"  (1863). 
"  Sermons  for  Children  "  (1867)  appeared  posthumously. 

It  wlU  readily  appear  from  the  list  of  his  publications, 
that  Dr.  N^eale  was  an  indefatigable  worker.  Excessive 
literary  labor,  and  exhausting  works  of  benevolence,  wore 
Mm  out  at  a  comparatively  early  age.  He  died  at  home, 
August  6, 1866,  in  his  forty-ninth  year,  in  humble  faith  and 
peaceful  hope. 

He  excelled  greatly  in  the  versification  of  the  ancient 
Greek  and  Latin  Hymns,  and  found  great  delight  in  the 
occupation :  "  Some  of  the  happiest  and  most  instructive 
hours  of  my  life,"  he  says,  "  were  spent  in  the  Sub-Com- 
mittee of  the  Ecclesiological  Society,  appointed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  bringing  out  the  Second  Part  of  the  Hymnal  Noted. 
It  was  my  business  to  lay  before  them  the  translations  I  had 
prepared,  and  theirs  to  correct."  Many  of  his  hymns  and 
translations  were  contributions,  also,  to  "  Hymns  Ancient 
and  Modern,"  and  the  "People's  Hymnal."  His  "Jerusa- 
lem "  hymns  are  general  favorites.  All  his  translations  were 
in  "  the  exact  measure  and  rhyme  of  the  original,"  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  "  quatrain  "  rhymes,  for  which  he 
substituted  "couplets."  His  original  hymns  partake  con- 
siderably of  the  mediaeval  style  which  he  had  so  long  and 
faithfully  studied.     Tlie  following  is  a  fair  specimen : 

"  O  very  God  of  very  God, 
And  very  Light  of  Light ! 
Whose  feet  this  earth's  dark  valley  trod, 
That  so  it  might  be  bright ! — 

"  Our  hopes  are  weak,  our  fears  are  strong, 
Thick  darkness  blinds  our  eyes ; 


JOACHIM  NEANDEE.  457 

Cold  is  tlie  night, — and,  Oh. !  we  long 
That  thou,  oiu'  Sun,  wouldst  rise  I 

"  And  even  now,  though  dvHl  and  grey, 
The  east  is  brightening  fast, 
And  kindling  to  the  perfect  day 
That  never  shall  be  past. 

"  Oh !  guide  us  till  our  path  is  done, 
And  we  have  reached  the  shore, 
Where  thou,  our  everlasting  Sun, 
Art  shining  evermore." 


JOACHIM  NEANDER. 

1640-1680. 

Joachim  Neaistdee  was  born  at  Bremen,  Germany,  in 
1640,  of  parents  in  easy  circumstances,  and  in  early  youth 
was  careless  and  wild.  A  sermon  by  the  venerable  pastor 
(Undereyk)  of  St.  Martin's  Cliurcli,  deeply  affected  him. 
He  had  gone  to  the  church  with  two  of  his  gay  comrades, 
to  make  sport,  but  came  away  in  tears.  An  interview  with 
the  pastor  deepened  his  convictions.  He  began  to  seek  his 
soul's  salvation,  parted  from  his  wild  associates,  and  aban- 
doned his  former  life  of  folly. 

He  was  still  passionately  fond  of  hunting.  On  one  occa- 
sion, not  long  after,  in  his  eager  pursuit  of  game,  night 
overtook  him,  and  he  lost  his  way  among  the  rocks  and 
wooded  hills.  He  wandered  about,  till  he  found  himself 
on  the  very  edge  of  a  steep  precipice,  where  another  step 
forward  would  have  ended  his  life.  He  now  fell  on  his 
knees  in  prayer,  and  vowed  to  give  himself  up  to  God's 
service.  He  then  resumed  his  search  for  a  way  of  escape, 
and  speedily,  as  if  led  by  a  divine  hand,  succeeded  in  find- 
ing the  well-known  path  to  his  home.  He  kept  his  vow, 
and  became  a  new  man. 

Having  finished  his  course  at  the  University,  he  accom- 


458  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH, 

panied  some  of  liis  wealthy  fellow-stiidents  to  Frankfort, 
and  engaged  in  teacliing.  Here  lie  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  godly  Philip  J.  Spener,  who  was  about  five  years 
older  than  himself,  and  who  subsequently  became  the  ac- 
knowledged head  of  the  Pietists  of  Germany.  Neander 
was  introduced  to  the  circle  of  religious  people  with  whom 
Spener  was  associated,  and  greatly  profited  by  this  pious 
intercourse.  In  1674,  he  was  apj)ointed  Head-Master  of 
the  Reformed  grammar-school  at  Dusseldorf,  and  acquired 
great  reputation  as  a  teacher.  He,  also,  established  pri- 
vate religious  meetings  among  the  people,  and  occasionally 
preached  with  great  fervor  in  the  town  church.  He  was 
accused  of  heresy,  and  the  elders  of  the  church  proceeded 
to  the  school,  arraigned  him  for  his  irregularities,  and  de- 
posed him.  It  was  summer,  and  he  found  refuge  in  a  deep 
and  beautiful  glen,  near  Mettman  on  the  Rhine,  and  lived 
some  months  in  a  cave,  since  called  by  his  name. 

In  this  lone  retreat  he  composed  his  "  Song  of  Summer," 
and  many  other  beautiful  hymns.  At  length,  after  vari- 
ous vicissitudes,  he  was  called,  in  1679,  to  be  the  second 
preacher,  with  his  spiritual  father,  Undereyk,  at  St.  Mar- 
tin's, Bremen.  Here,  too,  his  zeal  and  fervor,  in  preaching 
the  humbling  doctrines  of  the  Cross,  stirred  up  the  hatred 
and  opposition  of  his  townsmen  and  kindred.  A  severe 
illness,  the  following  year,  brought  him  to  the  grave.  He 
died,  May  31, 1680,  in  the  full  assurance  of  faith.  He  com- 
posed seventy-one  hymns,  many  of  which  h:>,  also,  set  to 
music.  Miss  Winkworth  calls  him  "  the  most  important 
hymn- writer  of  the  German  Reformed  Church,  whose  pro- 
ductions are  marked  by  great  depth  and  tenderness  of  feel- 
ing." 


JOHN  NEEDHAM. 

But  little  information  is  now  accessible  respecting  John 
ISTeedhara.  He  comes  into  notice,  first,  as  pastor  of  a  Bap- 
tist church  in  the  market-town  of  Hitchin,  a  romantic  spot, 


JOHN  NEEDHAM.  459 

of  historic  fame,  in  Hertfordsliirej  England.  As  was  often 
the  case,  in  those  days,  among  the  Dissenters,  he  supported 
himself  in  part  by  teaching ;  among  his  pupils,  previous 
to  1740,  was  the  Kev.  Benjamta  Wallin,  himself  a  hymn- 
writer.  Needham  removed  to  Bristol,  in  1746,  and  was 
associated  with  the  Rev.  John  Beddome,  in  the  pastorate 
of  the  Baptist  Church  in  the  Pithay,  Bristol. 

In  consequence  of  a  controversy,  growing  out  of  the  co- 
pastorship  of  the  church,  Mr.  Needham  was  deprived  (1752) 
of  his  position,  and,  with  a  portion  of  the  congregation, 
fonned  a  new  church,  over  which  he  presided  as  pastor,  in 
Callowhill,  also  a  part  of  Bristol,  untU  the  year  1787.  His 
death,  probably,  occurred  at  this  date. 

He  wrote  a  large  number  of  hymns,  and,  in  1768,  pub- 
lished them  with  the  title,—"  Hymns  Devotional  and  Mor- 
al, on  various  Subjects.  Collected  chiefly  from  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  Suited  to  the  Christian  State  and  Wor- 
ship." It  contains  263  hymns,  some  of  which  are  now  in 
use,  and  are  much  esteemed.  Eighteen  of  them  are  found 
in  DobeU's  Selection.  The  most  of  them,  however,  are 
quite  inferior.  His  Advent  Hymn,  as  modified  by  Dobell, 
is  one  of  his  best : 

"Awake!  awake!  arise! 

And  hail  the  glorious  morn ; 
Hark !  how  the  angels  sing, 

'  To  you  a  Saviour  's  bom  1 ' 
Now  let  our  hearts  in  concert  move, 
And  every  tongue  be  tuned  by  love. 

"  He  mortals  came  to  save 

From  sin's  tyrannic  power: 
Come,  with  the  angels  sing 

At  this  auspicious  hour ; 
Let  every  heart  and  tongue  combine, 
To  praise  the  love,  the  grace  divine. 

"The  prophecies  and  types 
Are  all  this  day  fulfilled ; 
With  eastern  sages  join. 

To  praise  this  wondrous  child; 


460  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Grod's  only  Son  is  come  to  bless 

The  eartli  with  peace  and  righteousness. 

"  Glory  to  God  on  high, 

For  our  Inimanuel's  birth  1 
To  mortal  men  good-will, 

And  peace  and  joy  on  earth  1 
With  angels  now  we  will  repeat 
Their  songs,  stUl  new  and  ever  sweet." 


DAYID  NELSON. 
1793-1844. 

David  Nelson^  was  the  son  of  Henry  Nelson  and  Anna 
Kelsey,  of  Jonesboro',  East  Tennessee,  where  lie  was  bom, 
September  24,  1793.  His  parents  were  natives  of  Eock- 
bridge  Co.,  Va.  His  father,  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  was  of  English  parentage ;  his  mother  was 
of  Scotch  parentage,  and  a  woman  of  remarkable  vigor  of 
intellect,  and  spiritual  fervor.  At  Washington  College, 
only  two  miles  from  his  home,  he  received  an  excellent 
education,  graduating  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  His  elder 
brother,  Samuel  K.  Nelson,  had  become  the  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Danville,  Ky.,  and  had  married  a 
daughter  of  Gov.  Shelby.  Another  daughter  of  the  Gov- 
ernor married  Dr.  Ephraim  McDowell,  and  with  him  David 
entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine,  completing  his  course, 
and  taking  his  degree  of  M.D.  (1812),  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Though  but  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  became  the  surgeon 
of  a  Kentucky  regiment  in  the  war  with  Great  Britain : 
and,  on  an  expedition  to  Canada,  was  subjected  to  extreme 
privations  and  toils,  narrowly  escaping  death.  His  experi- 
ence during  a  campaign  in  Alabama  and  Florida  was  similar. 
At  the  close  of  the  war,  he  returned  to  his  native  place,  and 
suonessf  ully  engaged  in  medical  practice ;  at  which  time, 


DAYTD  NELSON.  461 

also  (1815),  lie  married  an  accomplislied  young  woman,  tlie 
dangliter  of  David  Deaderick,  a  prosperous  merchant  of 
tlie  neighborhood. 

Dr.  Nelson  had,  early  in  life,  become  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church ;  but  evil  associations,  both  at  Dan- 
ville and  in  the  army,  had  corrupted  his  morals,  and  viti- 
ated his  principles.  He  became  a  card-playing,  fun-loving 
infidel.  A  big,  burly  man,  he  was  readily  accepted  as  a 
master  spirit,  popular  and  i:)owerful.  But  an  esfrly-trained 
conscience  successfully  asserted  its  supremacy.  He  re- 
solved to  read  both  sides.  A  thought  in  Doddridge's 
"  Rise  and  Progress  "  arrested  his  attention.  He  read  on, 
and  his  infidelity  was  gone.  He  now  (1823)  reunited  with 
the  church,  abandoned  his  profession  (though  of  lucrative 
promise),  and,  having  studied  theology,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Rev.  Robert  Glenn,  of  Kingsport,  Tenn.,  he  was,  in 
April,  1825,  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Abingdon.  The 
next  October  he  was  ordained,  at  RogersvUle,  Tenn.,  as  an 
evangelist. 

During  the  next  three  years,  he  was  associated  with  two 
other  preachers,  of  well-earned  fame,  Frederick  A.  Ross 
and  James  Gallaher,  in  conducting  The  Calmnistic  Maga- 
zine (a  monthly  of  marked  ability),  preaching  continu- 
ally, but  without  a  fixed  charge.  His  brother,  Samuel, 
having  died,  m  1827,  he  succeeded  to  the  vacant  pulpit 
at  Danville,  Ky.  In  1830,  he  removed  to  Marion  Co., 
in  the  northeastern  section  of  Missouri,  and  founded,  at 
Greenfields,  a  manual-labor  college,  known  as  Marion  Col- 
lege, of  which  he  became  the  first  President, — succeeded,  in 
1835,  by  the  Rev.  William  S.  Potts,  of  St.  Louis.  In  1836, 
owing  to  a  violent  agitation  of  the  community,  growing 
out  of  the  discussion  of  Slavery,  he  was  compelled  to  aban- 
don his  new  home,  and  take  refuge  in  a  free  State.  He  ob- 
tained lands  about  five  miles  from  Quincy,  Illinois,  and 
founded  another  manual-labor  institute.  He  had  become 
subject  to  frequent  attacks  of  epilepsy,  by  which,  a.t  length, 
his  intellect  was  considerably  impaired.  They  terminated 
in  his  death,  at  his  home  in  Oakland,  October  17, 1844. 


462  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

He  wrote,  and  published  in  1837,  Ms  "  Cause  and  Cure  of 
Infidelity,"  a  book,  like  its  author,  sid  generis,  and  won- 
derfully adapted  to  the  current  of  thought  in  the  newer 
portions  of  America.  It  was  "  written  with  the  design  of 
urging  the  multitude  to  become  informed  concerning  the 
Book  of  Books,  the  Bible."  Its  success  has  been  great. 
It  is  full  of  the  author's  peculiarities,  and  suggestive  of 
his  style  of  preaching.  The  American  Tract  Society  adopted 
and  publistied  it  in  1841.  It  has  also  been  published  in 
England. 

In  the  pulpit,  he  was  very  unequal ;  at  times,  he  was 
overpowering.  Dr.  Ross,  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends, 
says:  "Kelson  was  the  most  fascinating  preacher  I  ever 
heard";  and  Dr.  Robert  J.  Breckenridge  testifies:  "lean 
truly  say,  his  power  in  the  pulpit  exceeded  all  I  ever  wit- 
nessed." But  he  was  a  man  of  impulse.  If  he  was  not  in 
a  fitting  mood^  or  did  not  feel  at  home,  he  would  cut  short 
his  discourse  Tvithin  ten  or  twelve  minutes  and  dismiss  the 
congregation. 

The  hymn  beginning 

"  My  days  are  gliding  swiftly  by," 

was  improvised,  as  his  custom  was,  to  be  sung  to  the  tune  of 
"  Lord  UUin's  Daughter,"  of  which  Mr.  Root's  tune,  usually 
sung  to  these  words,  is  but  a  variation.  Two  others  of  his 
hymns  are  to  be  found  in  the  Rev.  James  Gallaher's  Selec- 
tion, published  as  a  Supplement  to  his  edition  of  Watts' 
Psalms  and  Hymns  (Cincinnati,  1835). 


EDWm  H.   NEYIN. 

1814 . 

Dr.  NEvrs-  is  the  son  of  Major  David  Nevin,  of  Ship- 
pensburgh,  Pa.,  where  he  was  bom.  May  9, 1814.  He  was 
educated  at  Jefferson  College,  Canonsburgh,  Pa.,  gradua- 


EDWIN  H.   NEVIN.  463 

ting  there  in  1833.  He  prosecuted  the  study  of  theology 
at  Princeton  Seminary,  and,  in  1836,  was  licensed  to  preach, 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia.  He  began  his  ministry 
as  a  Home  Missionary  in  Ohio.  In  1838,  he  supplied  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Poland,  of  which  he  was  (June  25, 
1839)  ordained  the  pastor,  by  the  Presbytery  of  I^ew  Lis- 
bon. He  was  dismissed,  April  20,  1841,  and,  shortly  after, 
he  became  the  President  of  Franklin  College,  New  Athens, 
Ohio,  and  the  Stated  Supply  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
the  town.  He  accepted,  in  1845,  a  call  to  the  pastorate  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Mount  Yemon,  Ohio,  in  con- 
nection with  the  Presbytery  of  Richland.  Here  he  remained 
about  four  years. 

Returning  to  the  East,  he  took  charge  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Walpole,  Mass.,  of  which  he  was  installed 
the  pastor,  November  15,  1854.  At  the  same  time,  he 
united  with  the  Mendon  Association.  Thence  he  removed 
to  Chelsea,  and  was  installed  (April  29, 1857)  the  pastor  of 
the  Congregational  Church  there.  Three  years  later  (I860), 
he  became  the  acting  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church 
of  Edgartown,  Mass.  He  retired  (1862)  from  the  active 
labors  of  the  ministry,  owing  to  the  loss  of  health,  returned 
to  PhiladeliDhia,  and  resided  there,  without  ministerial 
charge,  until  1868.  He  then  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastor- 
ate of  St.  Paul's  Reformed  Church,  Lancaster,  Pa.  In 
1870,  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  from  Frank- 
lin and  Marshall  College,  Lancaster,  Pa.  He  returned 
(1871)  to  Philadelphia,  and  took  charge  of  the  First  Re- 
formed Church  of  that  city,  where  he  still  resides. 

The  following  beautiful  hymn  was  contributed  by  him, 
in  1857,  to  the  "  Congregational  Hymn-Book  " : 

"  '  Come  up  hither;  come  away! ' — 
Thus  the  ransomed  spirits  sing; 
'  Here  is  cloudless,  endless  day, 
Here  is  everlasting  spring. 

"  '  Come  up  hither;  come,  and  dwell 
With  the  living  hosts  above ; 
Come,  and  let  your  bosoms  swell 
With  their  burning  songs  of  love. 


464  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

** '  Come  up  Mtlier;  come,  and  share 
In  the  sacred  joys  that  rise, 
Like  an  ocean,  everywhere 
Through  the  myriads  of  the  skies. 

"  '  Come  up  hither ;  come,  and  shine 
In  the  robes  of  spotless  white ; 
Palms,  and  harps,  and  crowns  are  thine ; 
Hither,  hither  wing  your  flight. 

"  '  Come  up  hither;  hither  speed; 
Rest  is  found  in  heaven  alone ; 
Here  is  all  the  wealth  you  need ; 

Come  and  make  this  wealth  your  own.'" 


JOHN  HENRY  NEWMAN. 

1801- . 

In  June,  1833,  John  Henry  Newman,  on  Ms  way  from 
Palermo  to  Marseilles,  becalmed  in  an  orange-boat  on  the 
Mediterranean,  "beneath  a  burning  sky,"  sick  and  dis- 
pirited, lonely  and  gloomy,  in  a  state  of  spiritual  unrest, 
poured  out  his  soul  in  the  words  of  the  hymn, 

"  Lead,  kindly  light!  amid  th'  encircling  gloom." 

He  had  parted,  a  few  weeks  before,  with  Richard  Hurrell 
Fronde,  with  whom  he  had  been  travelling  for  months  on 
the  Continent.  Fronde,  though  two  years  his  junior,  had 
exercised  a  wonderful  power  over  him  for  five  years.  Out- 
spoken, ardent,  and  sanguine,  Fronde  had  openly,  long 
iDefore,  "  professed  his  admiration  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  his  hatred  of  the  Reformers."  Newman  had  been 
trained  a  Protestant  and  a  Calvinist.  It  had  cost  him 
numberless  struggles,  but,  step  hj  step,  he  had  abandoned 
the  teachings  of  his  boyhood,  and  was  already  on  the  verge 
of  Romanism.  It  was  in  this  state  that  he  wrote  these 
lines.    No  wonder  that  he  cries  out, 

"  The  night  is  dark,  and  I  am  far  from  home." 


JOHN  HENRY  NEWMAN,  465 

He  had  written  several  such  stanzas  and  sonnets,  since  leav- 
ing home,  which  appeared  in  the  British  Magazine.  They 
give  unmistakable  evidence  of  a  soul  far  from  peace  and  rest. 
These  and  other  similar  poetic  effusions  were  gathered 
together  three  years  afterwards  (1836),  and  published  in 
the  "Lyra  Apostolica." 

John  Henry  Newman,  the  eldest  son  of  John  Newman, 
was  born  February  21,  1801,  in  London,  England,  where 
his  father  was  a  banker.  His  training  at  home  was  emi- 
nently religious.  "I  was  brought  up  from  a  child,"  he 
says,  "to  take  great  delight  in  reading  the  Bible."  He 
early  became  visionary,  and  soon  after  his  conversion  at 
the  age  of  fifteen,  he  imbibed  the  conviction  that  God  had 
marked  out  for  him  a  life  of  celibacy — a  conviction  never 
shaken. 

He  was  sent  to  school  at  Ealing,  under  the  tuition  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Nicholas.  Thence  (1816)  he  went  to  Oxford ; 
entered  at  Trinity  College ;  took  (1818)  a  scholarship,  by 
election  ;  graduated  in  1820  ;  took  classical  honors,  and  was 
elected  (1822)  a  Fellow  of  Oriel  College.  He  now  became 
acquainted  with  John  Keble,  and  intimate  with  Edward 
Bouverie  Pusey,  a  few  months  only  his  senior.  He  was 
ordained  deacon  June  13, 1824,  and  priest.  May  28, 1 825,  by 
the  Bishop  of  Oxford.  Dr.  Whately,  Principal  of  St. 
Alban's  Hall,  gave  him  the  appointment  (1825)  of  Yice 
Principal,  which,  however,  he  relinquished,  when,  the  fol- 
lowing year,  he  was  appointed  a  Tutor  of  Oriel  College. 

His  intimacy  with  Froude  now  began,  and  was  produc- 
tive of  marked  results.  Newman  himself  says :  "  He  made 
me  look  with  admiration  towards  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  in  the  same  degree  to  dislike  the  Reformation.  He 
fixed  deep  in  me  the  idea  of  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin, and  he  led  me  gradually  to  believe  in  the  Real  Pres- 
ence." In  the  spring  of  1828,  Newman  was  preferred  to 
the  Vicarage  of  St.  Mary's,  Oxford.  During  Newman's 
incumbency,  St.  Mary's  became  the  popular  resort  of  th^ 
students ;  and,  under  the  spell  of  his  magnetic  mind,  the 
way  was  prepared  for  the  remarkable  spread  of  "Angli- 
30 


466  THE  POETS  OF  TETE  CHURCH. 

can"  principles,  Tractarian  doctrines,  and,  eventnally.  Pa- 
pal perversions — that  marked  tlie  history  of  the  University 
during  the  next  quarter  of  a  century. 

IN'ewman  still  retained  his  academic  position.  In  1827, 
he  was  appointed  a  Public  Examiner  ;  and,  in  1830,  one  of 
the  Select  University  Preachers.  He  had  written,  in  the 
shape  of  Essays  and  Reviews,  the  "  Life  and  Writings  of 
Cicero,"  the  "Life  of  ApoUonius  Tyanseus"  (1824),  "Scrip- 
ture Miracles"  (1826),  and  "Greek  Tragedy."  At  the  so- 
licitation of  the  Rev.  Hugh  James  Rose,  he  began  (1830) 
to  write  "The  Arians  of  the  Fourth  Century";  which  was 
finished  in  July,  1832,  and  published  in  the  autumn  of  1833. 
Mr.  Rose  had  started  (1832)  Tlie  BritisTi  Magazine,  ex- 
pressly for  the  promotion  of  Anglicanism,  and  Newman  be- 
came a  leading  contributor  to  its  columns. 

On  his  return  from  the  Continent  (July,  1833),  after  an 
absence  of  seven  months,  in  which  he  had  recruited  his 
impaired  health,  Newman  and  two  or  three  Oriel  friends 
began  the  agitation  that  led  to  the  issue  of  the  "  Tracts  for 
the  Times."  Keble's  sennon  on  "National  Apostasy"  was 
preached  in  Ne^vman's  church,  July  14,  1833.  Consulta- 
tion followed.  An  "Association"  was  formed  in  Septem- 
ber. Newman  wrote  the  first  two  of  the  "Tracts";  four 
were  written  by  others ;  the  6th,  7th,  8th,  10th,  and  11th 
speedily  followed  from  the  pen  of  Ne^vman,  who  travelled 
over  the  country,  calling  on  clergymen,  and  urging  them 
to  Join  "  The  Movement."  Of  the  smaller  Tracts,  he  ^vrote, 
in  addition,  Nos.  19,  20,  21,  34,  38,  41,  45,  and  47. 

He  wrote,  also,  several  essays  for  The  Record;  and  con- 
tributed largely  to  Hie  British  Critic.  The  cry  of  "  Pop- 
ery !  "  was  raised,  but  he  had  no  fear.  On  he  pressed. 
Unconsciously  he  became  the  leader  of  a  party,  supplied 
chiefly  by  Oxford.  The  opposition  of  the  Liberal  party 
stimulated  them  to  more  vigorous  and  learned  presenta 
tions  of  their  views.     Dr.  Pusey  joined  them  in  1834  or 

1835.  The  larger  Tracts  followed.      Of  these,  Ne^raian 
wrote  Nos.  71,  73,  75,  79,  82,  83,  85,  and  88.     From  1834  to 

1836,  he  was  occupied  with  "  The  Prophetical  Oflace  of  the 


JOHN  HENRY  NEWMAN.  467 

Churcli,  viewed  relatively  to  Romanism  and  Popular  Prot- 
estantism," which  was  published  in  1837.  Several  pam- 
phlets, in  the  meantime,  came  forth  from  his  prolific  pen, 
either  in  defence,  or  in  the  maintenance,  of  his  Anglican- 
ism. "  The  Church  of  the  Fathers "  was  among  his  larger 
works  of  this  period  ;  having  first  appeared  in  Numbers  in 
the  Britisli  Magazine.  In  1837,  he  wrote  his  "  Essay  on 
Justification,"  published  in  1838. 

Froude  died,  February  28,  1836  ;  and  Newman,  in  1838- 
39,  published  his  "  Remains,"  in  two  Parts, — Keble  assist- 
ing in  the  work.  Alarm,  still  more  loudly,  was  now  ex- 
pressed for  the  Church.  The  Romanizing  tendency  of 
"The  Oxford  Movement". was  more  than  ever  disclosed. 
How  could  the  leaders  and  abettors  of  "  The  Movement " 
subscribe  honestly  to  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles  ? — such  was 
every  one's  inquiry.  Newman  set  himself  to  the  work  of 
reconciling  this  difiiculty,  and  wrote,  in  the  winter  of  1840- 
41,  his  "  Remarks  on  Certain  Passages  in  the  Thirty-Nine 
Articles."  It  was  a  labored  attempt  to  reconcile  Rome  and 
Lambeth.  Keble  and  Pusey  approved  it,  and  it  was  issued 
as  Tract  No.  90.  It  is  dated,  "  The  Feast  of  the  Conversion 
of  St.  Paul,  1841,"  and  was  published  at  the  close  of  Feb- 
ruary. 

Great  excitement  followed  its  publication.  It  was  prompt- 
ly condemned  by  the  authorities  of  the  University,  and  by 
the  Episcopal  bench.  An  end  was  put  to  the  Series.  New- 
man, sorely  disappointed,  retired  to  Littlemore — a  charge 
that  he  held  in  connection  with  St.  Mary's,  Oxford.  In 
February,  1843,  he  made  a  formal  recantation  of  all  that 
he  had  said  against  Rome ;  in  September,  1843,  resigned 
both  St.  Mary's  and  Littlemore  ;  and,  October  8,  1845,  for- 
mally applied  to  be  received  into  the  communion  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  leaving  Oxford  finally,  February  23,  1846. 

After  a  visit  to  Rome,  he  was  ai)pointed  (1848)  Father 
Superior  of  the  Oratory  of  St.  Philip  Neri,  at  Birmingham  ; 
in  1854,  he  became  Rector  of  the  newly  founded  Roman 
Catholic  University  at  Dublin ;  and,  in  1858,  he  removed 
to  Edgbaston,  near  Birmingham,  where  he  established  a 


468  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

scliool  for  the  sons  of  the  Roman  Catholic  gentry.  In  1879, 
he  was  created  a  Cardinal.  "  By  the  present  Pope,  Dr. 
Newman's  long  services  have  been  rewarded  by  the  highest 
dignity  in  his  power  to  bestow  ;  and  he  added  to  his  gift 
by  dispensing  Dr.  Newman  from  all  those  duties  and  serv  • 
ices  which  might  have  been  burdensome  to  him  at  his  great 
age,  and  to  one  who  for  so  long  had  lived  apart  from  the 
stir  of  the  world  in  his  peaceful  home  at  Edgbaston." 

He  published,  at  various  dates  previous  to  1844,  "Pa- 
rochial Sermons,"  in  8  vols. ;  and,  1844  :  "  Sermons  chiefly 
bearing  on  Subjects  of  the  Day";  "Sermons,  chiefly  on  the 
Tlieory  of  Religious  Belief,  preached  before  the  University 
of  Oxford";  "A  Translation  of  the  Secret  Treatises  of  St. 
Athanasius";  and  an  "Essay  on  fhe  Miracles  recorded  in 
the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  Early  Ages."  This  lasl 
was  taken  from  a  translation  of  "  The  Ecclesiastical  History 
of  M.  L'Abbe  Fleury,"  which  Newman  edited  (1842-44), 
in  3  vols.  "An  Essay  on  the  Development  of  Christian 
Doctrine,"  followed  in  1846  ;  "  Loss  and  Gain,  or  a  Story 
of  a  Convert"  (1848) ;  "Sermons  to  Mixed  Congregations" 
(1849) ;  "  Lectures  on  Certain  Difficulties  felt  by  Anglicans 
in  submitting  to  the  Catholic  Church "  (1850) ;  "  Lectures 
on  the  Present  Position  of  Catholics  in  England"  (1851) ; 
"  Lectures  on  the  History  of  the  Turks  in  its  Relation  to 
Christianity"  (1853) ;  "  Essays  and  Lectures  on  University 
Subjects,"  3  vols.  (1854-56);  "  Callista,  a  Sketch  of  the 
Third  Century "  (1856) ;  "  Sermons  preached  on  Various 
Occasions"  (1857);  "Apologia  pro  Vita  Sua"  (1864);  a 
"  Collection  of  Poems "  (1868) ;  "  An  Essay  on  Assent " 
(1870);  and  "Mr.  Gladstone's  Recent  Expostulation,"  and 
"  A  History  of  Arianism  "  (1875). 

Newman's  poetry  does  not  equal  his  prose.  The  follow- 
ing stanzas,  taken  from  "Lyra  Apostolica"  (1833),  may 
serve  as  a  specimen : 

"  Time  was,  I  shrank  from  what  was  right, 
From  fear  of  what  was  wi'Dng ; 
I  would  not  brave  the  sacred  fight, 
Because  the  foe  was  strong. 


JOHN  NEWTON.  469 

"  But  now  I  cast  that  iOner  sense 
And  sorer  shame  aside ; 
Such  dread  of  sin  was  indolence, 
Such  aim  at  heaven  was  pride. 

*'  So,  when  my  Savioui'  calls,  I  rise 
And  calmly  do  my  hest ; 
Leaving  to  him,  with  silent  eyes 
Of  hope  and  fear,  the  rest. 

"  I  step,  I  mount  where  he  has  led; 
Men  count  my  haltings  o'er ; — 
I  know  them ;  yet,  though  self  I  dread. 
I  love  his  precept  more. " 


JOHN  NEWTON. 
1725-1807. 

The  "  Olney  Hymns,"  written  by  John  Newion  and  Will- 
iam Co^TDer,  were  first  published  in  1779,  and  have  proved 
exceedingly  useful  and  acceptable.  The  larger  part  of 
Newton's  hjanns  are  poor ;  but  many  of  them,  although 
not  to  be  classed  with  Cowper's  and  the  best  productions 
of  lyric  poetry,  are  just  such  as  the  people  love  to  sing. 
They  were  written  at  the  Vicarage  of  Olney,  an  unromantic 
spot  in  Buckinghamshire.  The  town  consisted  of  a  single 
street  of  stone  houses,  the  most  of  them  thatched  with. 
straw,  with  a  parish  church  noted  for  its  lofty  spire.  New- 
ton and  Cowper  have  given  renown  to  the  place  and  its 
surroundings.  Its  varied  scenery  is  described  in  the  first 
book  of  "The  Task." 

John  Newton  was  bom  in  London,  England,  July  24 
(O.  S.),  August  4  (N.  S.);  1725.  His  father,  John,  had  been 
trained  at  a  Jesuit  College  in  Spain,  and  for  many  years 
was  master  of  a  ship  in  the  Mediterranean  trade.  His 
mother,  Elizabeth,  was  connected  with  the  Independent 


470  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Cliurcli  under  the  care  of  tlie  Rev.  Dr.  Jennings.  John 
was  her  only  child.  She  died  when  he  was  but  seven  years 
old.  Till  then,  his  training  was  of  the  most  godly  sort. 
His  father  married  again  the  following  year,  but  the  step- 
mother took  little  heed  to  the  boy's  character.  In  his 
ninth  year,  he  was  sent  to  a  boarding-school  in  Essex,  and 
made  some  progress  in  Latin.  At  eleven,  his  father  took 
him  to  sea,  which  he  followed  for  four  years.  At  the  age 
of  fifteen  he  was  placed,  with  good  prospects,  at  Alicante, 
.  Sj)ain,  but  through  his  unsteadiness  he  lost  his  position. 

A  place  was  oif  ered  him  in  Jamaica ;  and,  in  December, 
1742,  previous  to  the  sailing  of  the  ship,  he  made  a  three 
days'  visit  to  Chatham,  in  Kent,  to  see  the  family  of  Mr. 
George  Catlett. — relatives  of  his  deceased  mother.  Mary, 
the  eldest  daughter,  scarcely  fourteen,  so  charmed  the 
young  rover,  that  the  three  days  were  prolonged  to  three 
weeks,  and  the  ship  sailed  without  him.  A  voyage  to  Ven- 
ice followed ;  and,  at  the  expiration  of  a  year,  he  returned 
to  England.  After  a  short  stay  on  shore,  he  was  impressed 
and  taken  as  a  sailor  on  board  the  war-ship  Harwicli.  In- 
fluence was  used,  and  he  was  promoted  to  the  quarter-deck 
as  a  midshipman.  In  1745,  he  deserted  the  ship  at  Ply- 
mouth, was  brought  back,  degraded,  ironed,  and  flogged. 

He  had  become  an  infidel,  and  now  threw  off  all  restraint. 
At  Madeira,  he  was  transferred  from  the  Harwicli  to  a  ves- 
sel bound  for  Sierra  Leone  in  Africa.  Entering  into  the 
service  of  a  slave-dealer,  on  one  of  the  Plaintain  Islands,  he 
suffered  incredible  hardships,  and  was  reduced  to  the  lowest 
straits.  Informing  his  father  of  his  condition,  he  was  re- 
leased (1748)  from  his  misery,  and  taken  on  board  a  vessel 
commissioned  to  call  for  him.  On  the  way  home,  they  were 
overtaken  by  a  storm  that  nearly  sank  the  looor  unseawor- 
thy  craft.  It  brought  him  to  prayar,  and  to  repentance. 
He  reached  home  in  May,  1848 — no  longer  an  infidel,  but  a 
Christian  by  conviction. 

His  father,  before  his  return,  had  gone  out  to  Hudson's 
Bay,  as  Governor  of  York  Fort,  and  soon  after  died.  N'ew- 
ton  made  another  voyage,  as  mate,  to  the  African  coast. 


JOHN  NEWTON.  471 

After  Ms  return,  lie  was  married,  February  12,  1750,  to 
Miss  Catlett,  wliom  he  had.  never  ceased  to  love  devotedly 
since  their  first  meeting  seven  years  before.  Two  voyages, 
as  master,  to  Africa  and  the  West  Indies,  closed,  August, 
1754,  his  life  at  sea.  Newton  was  a  slave-trader,  and  in 
his  two  voyages  carried  probably  not  less  than  500  Africans 
into  West  Indian  slavery.  A  third  voyage  had  been  deter- 
mined on,  but,  on  the  eve  of  sailing,  an  apoplectic  attack 
intervened,  and  the  sea  was  finally  abandoned. 

Having  been  appointed  Tide  Surveyor  at  Livei^Dool,  he 
entered  on  the  duties  of  the  position,  in  August,  1755,  and 
held  it  nearly  nine  years.  He  now  took  an  active  part  in 
meetings  for  prayer,  and  mission-movements.  Occasionally 
he  was  persuaded  to  occupy  the  pulpit  as  a  lay-preacher.  At 
length,  after  consultation  with  friends,  he  determined  to 
seek  orders  in  the  Church  of  England.  On  his  later  voy- 
ages, he  had  employed  his  leisure  in  the  study  of  Euclid 
and  the  Latin  language,  and  for  many  years  he  had  been  a 
diligent  student  of  theology.  Five  years  intervened  be- 
tween his  first  application  and  the  successful  accomplish- 
ment of  his  purpose.  At  length,  the  Curacy  of  Olney  was 
offered  him  by  the  Yicar,  Rev.  Moses  Browne  ;  and,  by  the 
influence  of  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  the  patron  of  Olney, 
he  was  admitted  to  orders.  He  was  ordained  deacon,  April 
29,  1764,  and  priest,  June  17,  1764,  at  Buckden,  in  the 
thirty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  He  began  his  work  at  Olney, 
in  May,  and  continued  there  an  acceptable  and  most  useful 
preacher  and  pastor,  nearly  sixteen  years.  Co^^^^er  and 
Mrs.  Unwin  became  residents  of  Olney,  and  near  neighbors 
of  Newton,  in  September,  1767. 

In  August,  1764,  he  published  "  An  Authentic  Narrative 
of  some  remarkable  and  interesting  Particulars  in  the  Life 
of  Newton."  He  had  printed  a  volume  of  six  Sermons,  in 
1760,  at  Liverpool.  In  1767,  he  published  another  volume 
of  Sermons,  twenty  in  number.  His  "  Review  of  Ecclesi- 
astical History  "  was  issued  in  November,  1769.  He  wrote 
a  Series  of  twenty-six  Letters  for  The  Gospel  Magazine^ 
with  the  signature  of  "  Omicron,"  which,  in  July,  1774,  were 


472  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

publislied  in  one  volnme.  The  "  Olney  Hymns  "  appeared 
in  1779,  just  at  the  close  of  his  Curacy.  His  "  Cardiphonia ; 
or,  The  Utterance  of  the  Heart,  in  the  Course  of  a  Real 
Correspondence,"  was  published  in  1781 ;  his  "  Apologia : 
Four  Letters  to  a  Minister  of  an  Independent  Church,"  in 
1784 ;  also,  "  A  Plan  of  Academical  Preparation  for  the 
Ministry,"  and  eight  papers  contributed  to  the  TJieological 
Miscellany.  "A  Monument  to  the  Lord's  Goodness"  was 
issued  in  1785,  in  memory  of  his  beloved  niece  Eliza  Cun- 
ningham, who  died  that  year.  In  1786,  he  published  his 
"  Messiah :  Fifty  Expository  Discourses,  on  the  Series  of 
Scriptural  Passages,  which  form  the  Subject  of  the  cele- 
brated Oratorio  of  Handel";  in  1787,  his  "  Thoughts  upon 
the  African  Slave  Trade";  in  1791,  "  Christian  Character 
Exemplified,"  in  the  case  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Althaus  ;  and, 
in  1793,  in  two  volumes,  his  "  Letters  to  a  Wife." 

His  friend,  John  Thornton,  in  August,  1779,  presented 
him  to  the  Eectory  of  the  united  parishes  of  St.  Mary 
Woolnoth  and  St.  Mary  Woolchurch  Haw,  London ;  and 
he  entered  upon  his  work  there  in  December.  His  beloved 
and  idolized  wife  was  taken  from  him,  December  15,  1790, 
dying  from  the  effects  of  a  cancer.  His  own  death  occurred, 
December  21,  1807,  in  his  eighty-third  year,  and  in  the 
forty-fourth  year  of  his  ministry.  He  was  buried  in  a 
vault  under  his  church,  and  the  following  inscrix^tion,  com- 
posed by  himself,  and  engraved  on  a  marble  tablet,  perpet- 
uates his  memory  :  "  John  Newton,  Clerk,  once  an  Infidel 
and  Libertine,  a  servant  of  slaves  in  Africa,  was,  by  the  rich 
Mercy  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  preserved, 
restored,  pardoned,  and  appointed  to  preach  the  Faith  he 
had  long  labored  to  destroy." 

Newton  was  a  sailor  to  the  last,  in  his  habits,  his  talk, 
and,  to  some  extent,  his  apparel.  His  language  in  the  pul- 
pit was  remarkably  simple,  yet  always  correct.  His  sea- 
faring life  had  furnished  him  with  a  rich  and  varied  expe- 
rience, from  which  he  was  ever  drawing  forcible  illustrations 
of  divine  truth.  It  api:)ears  continually  in  his  poetry.  Who, 
but  a  sailor,  could  have  written  the  following  hvmn  ? — 


GERAED  THOMAS  NOEL.  473 

"  The  billows  swell,  tlie  winds  are  liigh, 
Clouds  overcast  my  wintry  sky ; 
Out  of  the  depths  to  thee  I  call, 
My  fears  are  great,  my  strength  is  small. 

"  O  Lord !  the  pilot's  part  perform, 
And  guide  and  guard  me  through  the  storm; 
Defend  me  from  each  threatening  ill, 
Control  the  waves !— say,— '  Peace !  be  still ! ' 

"  Amidst  the  roaring  of  the  sea. 
My  soul  still  hangs  her  hope  on  thee; 
Thy  constant  love,  thy  faithfid  care, 
Is  all  that  saves  me  from  despair. 

"Dangers  of  every  shape  and  name 
Attend  the  followers  of  the  Lamb, 
Who  leave  the  world's  deceitful  shore, 
And  leave  it  to  retm'n  no  more. 

"  Though  tempest-tossed,  and  haK  a  wreck. 
My  Saviour,  through  the  floods,  I  seek ; 
Let  neither  winds,  nor  stormy  rain. 
Force  back  my  shattered  bark  again." 


GERARD  THOMAS  NOEL. 
1782-1851. 

The  Rev.  Geeaed  Thomas  Noel  was  the  second  son 
of  Sir  Gerard  Noel  Edwardes,  Bart.,  and  Diana,  daughter 
and  heiress  of  Charles  Middleton,  the  first  Baron  Barham. 
His  elder  brother  was  the  first  Earl  of  Gainsborough  ;  his 
younger  brother  was  the  noted  Baptist  preacher,  Rev.  Bap- 
tist Wriothesley  Noel,  of  London. 

He  was  born,  December  2,  1782.  He  entered,  first,  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  and  thence  he  passed  to  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge,  where  he  graduated,  A.B.,  in  1805,  and 
A.M.,  in  1808.    He  married,  early  in  1806,  Charlotte  Sophia, 


474  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

a  daughter  of  the  Right  Hon.  Sir  Lucius  O'Brien,  Bart.,  of 
Ireland.  He  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood,  and  oflSciated 
first  as  the  Curate  of  Radwell,  Hertfordshire ;  then  as  the 
Vicar  of  Eainham,  Kent,  until  1826,  when  he  accepted  the 
Curacy  of  Richmond,  Surrey. 

As  the  result  of  an  early  visit  to  the  Continent,  he  pub- 
lished "Arvendel,  or  Sketches  in  Italy  and  Switzerland," 
the  second  edition  of  which  was  issued  in  1813.  Several 
poems  and  hymns,  of  a  superior  character,  are  appended  to 
these  "  Sketches."  This  was  followed  by  "  A  Selection  of 
Psalms  and  Hymns  from  the  ]S"ew  Version  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  others.  Corrected  and  Revised  for  Public 
Worship,"  of  which  the  third  edition  appeared  in  1820. 
Several  of  the  hymns  were  from  his  own  pen.  In  1827,  he 
published  a  volume  of  "  Sermons  preached  at  Richmond"; 
and,  the  next  year  (1828),  the  "Prospects  of  the  Church." 
These  were  followed  by  "Fifty  Sermons  for  the  Use  of 
Families,"  in  two  volumes,  a  new  edition  of  which  was  is- 
sued in  1830.  Several  of  his  occasional  sermons,  of  various 
dates,  were  also  given  to  the  press. 

He  was  made  a  Canon  of  Winchester,  in  1834,  and  pre- 
ferred, in  1840,  to  the  Vicarage  of  Romsey,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  his  decease,  February  24,  1851,  in  his  sixty- 
ninth  year.  A  volume  of  his  "  Sermons,  preached  in  Rom- 
sey," with  "A  Preface  by  Samuel  [Wilberforce],  Lord 
Bishop  of  Oxford,"  was  published  (1853)  posthumously. 

His  hymn  on  the  Fifth  Commandment  is  subjoined : 

"  To  honor  those  who  gave  us  birth, 
To  cheer  their  age,  to  feel  their  worth, 
Is  God's  cofnmand  to  human  kind, 
And  owned  by  every  grateful  mind. 

"  Think  of  her  toil,  her  anxious  care. 
Who  formed  thy  lisping  lips  to  prayer. 
To  win  for  God  the  yielding  soul. 
And  all  its  ardent  thoughts  control. 

"  Nor  keep,  from  memory's  glad  review, 
The  fears  which  all  the  father  knew. 


SAMSON  OCCOM;  475 

The  joy  that  marked  his  thankfiil  gaze, 
As  virtue  crowned  matui-er  days. 

''  God  of  our  life!  each  parent  guard, 
And  death's  sad  hoiu',  Oh!  long  retard; 
Be  theirs  each  joy  that  gilds  the  past, 
And  heaven  our  mutual  home  at  last." 


SAMSON  OCCOM. 
1723-1792. 

A  great  sensation  was  created  in  1766,  among  the  relig- 
ious circles  of  Scotland  and  England,  by  the  appearance,  in 
their  pulpits,  of  a  converted  Indian  from  America.  He  was 
called  Samson  Occom,  and  was  associated  with  a  Congrega- 
tional pastor,  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Whitaker,  of  Norwich, 
Conn.,  in  an  agency  for  an  Indian  Charity  School.  He  was 
befi-iended  by  the  evangelical  clergy,  and  not  a  few  of  the 
nobility.  The  Countess  of  Huntingdon  received  him  into 
her  house,  and  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  (the  friend  and  pa- 
tron of  John  Newton),  as  well  as  the  King  himself,  gave 
freely  to  the  object.  From  February  16,  1766,  to  July 
22, 1767,  he  preached  more  than  three  hundred  times,  and 
usually  to  crowded  houses.  The  collections  amounted  to 
nearly  £9,500.  The  whole  amount  was  deposited  with  a 
Committee,  of  which  Lord  Dartmouth  was  Chainnan,  and 
applied  to  the  building  of  a  college  in  the  town  of  Han- 
over, N.  H.,  to  which  the  name  of  the  noble  Earl  was 
given  in  compliment.  Such  was  the  origin  of  Dartmouth 
College,  New  Hampshire. 

Samson  Occom  was  born,  at  Mohegan,  on  the  river  Thames, 
between  Norwich  and  New  London,  Conn.,  in  1723.  His 
early  life  differed  not  materially  from  that  of  the  other 
Mohegans.  In  his  seventeenth  year,  "  the  Great  Revival " 
of  1740  spread  over  the  country  ;  it  reached  his  home,  and 


476  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

in  1741,  lie  was  converted  to  Christianity.  He  now  sought 
to  Christianize  his  people ;  and,  to  this  end,  learned  shortly 
to  read  the  Bible,  and  became  anxious  for  a  good  educa- 
tion. At  the  age  of  twenty  (1743),  he  was  received  into  a 
school  taught  by  the  Rev.  Eleazar  Wheelock,  Lebanon, 
Conn.,  a  short  distance  only  from  the  locality  of  his  tribe, 
where  he  remained  for  four  years. 

He  now  went  forth  as  a  teacher  of  his  people,  first  (1748) 
at  New  London,  Conn.,  and  then  among  the  Indians  at 
Montauk,  on  the  east  end  of  Long  Island,  N.  Y.  He  mar- 
ried an  Indian  woman,  and  supported  his  family  by  tilling 
the  ground  and  other  laborious  occupations — giving  most 
of  his  time,  however,  to  teaching,  both  children  and  adults. 
After  several  years,  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  by  the  Wind- 
ham Association,  Conn.,  and  served  as  a  missionary  among 
all  the  tribes  in  the  eastern  part  of  Long  Island.  Such 
was  his  proficiency,  that  the  Presbytery  of  Suffolk  ordained 
him  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  August  30, 1759. 

For  a  short  time  (1761),  he  served  as  a  missionary  among 
the  Oneida  Indians,  in  the  interior  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  His  mission  to  Great  Britain  occupied  the  greater 
part  of  the  years  1766  and  1767.  On  his  return,  he  labored 
among  his  own  tribe  at  Mohegan,  until  1786,  when  he  re- 
moved, in  company  with  a  considerable  number  of  New 
England  and  Long  Island  Indians,  to  the  Brotherton  Tract, 
Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y.  There,  and  at  New  Stockbridge  and 
Tuscarora,  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  was 
one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Albany, 
constituted  in  1790,  Having  been  universally  respected 
among  his  people,  he  died,  suddenly,  July  14, 1792,  greatly 
lamented  and  honored  by  them  all. 

A  sermon,  preached  by  him  at  the  execution  of  Moses 
Paul,  an  Indian,  at  New  Haven,  Conn.,  September  2, 1772, 
was  published  at  the  time,  and  is  quite  creditable.  He 
united  with  others  in  the  compilation  of  a  hymn-book, 
the  sixth  edition  of  which,  "  greatly  improved,"  was  pub- 
lished at  Albany,  with  the  title,—"  Divine  Hymns,  or  Spir- 
itual Songs,  for  the  Use  of  Religious  Assemblies  and  Pri- 


JOHN  OGILVIE.  477 

vate  Christians :  being  a  Collection  by  Joshua  Smith,  Sam- 
son Ocknm,  and  others."  The  names  of  the  authors  of  the 
hymns  are  not  given.  Two  of  them  are  known  to  have 
been  written  by  Occom.  The  156th  hymn  is  the  original 
from  which  Dr.  Nettleton  took  the  hymn 

"Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound,"  etc. 

Occom's  hymn  begins  with 

"Waked  by  the  Gospel's  joyful  sound.'' 

and  contains  eight  stanzas,  quite  different  from  the  form  in 
which  it  appeared  in  the  "  Village  Hymns  "  (1824),  and  aa 
now  generally  sung.  The  other  hymn  ascribed  to  Occom, 
is  on  "  Christ's  Sufferings,"  the  first  stanza  of  which  is  sub- 
joined : 

"  Throughout  our  Saviour's  life  we  trace 
Nothing  but  shame  and  deep  disgrace, 

No  period  else  was  seen. 
Till  he  a  spotless  victim  fell, 
Tasting  in  soul  a  painful  hell. 

Caused  by  the  creature's  sin." 


JOHN  OaiLYIB. 

1733-1814. 

John  Ogilvie,  D.D.,  was  a  Scotchman,  and  the  son  of  a 
Presbyterian  pastor.  His  father  was  one  of  the  ministers 
of  Aberdeen,  where  the  son  was  bom  in  1733.  His  Para- 
phrase of  the  148th  Psalm,  remarkable  for  poetic  beauties, 
was  written  when  he  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age.  He 
was  educated  at  the  Marischal  College  in  his  native  town, 
and  in  1759  was  presented  to  the  parish  of  Midmae,  Aber- 
deenshire, a  humble,  out-of-the-way  charge,  quite  in  the 
northeastern  section  of  Scotland.    Here,  for  more  than  half 


478  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

a  century,  he  resided,  passing  Ms  long  life  in  the  faithful 
discharge  of  his  parochial  duties,  and  in  literary  pursuits. 

His  publications  were  quite  numerous  :  "  The  Day  of 
Judgment,  a  Poem  "  (1758) ;  a  corrected  edition  of  it,  with 
several  Odes  attached  (1759) ; ."  Poems  on  several  Subjects, 
with  an  Essay  on  the  Lyric  Poetry  of  the  Ancients  "  (1762) ; 
"  Providence,  an  Allegorical  Poem  "  (1763) ;  "  Solitude,  or 
the  Elysium  of  the  Poets,  a  Vision  "  (1765) ;  "  Paradise,  a 
Poem,"  and  "  Poems  on  several  Subjects  "  (1769) ;  "  Philo- 
sophical and  Critical  Observations  on  the  IN'ature,  Character, 
and  various  Species  of  Composition "  (1774) ;  "  Rona,  a 
Poem "  (1777) ;  "  An  Inquiry  into  the  Causes  of  the  Infi- 
delity and  Scepticism  of  the  Times  "  (1783) ;  "  The  Theol- 
ogy of  Plato,  compared  with  the  Principles  of  the  Oriental 
and  Grecian  Philosophy  "  (1793) ;  "  Britannia,  an  Epic  Poem, 
in  twenty  books,  with  a  Critical  Dissertation  on  Epic  Ma- 
chinery "  (1801) ;  and  "  An  Examination  of  the  Evidence 
from  Prophecy,  in  behalf  of  the  Christian  Religion  "  (1802). 
The  mere  enumeration  of  his  "  Works "  shows  conclu- 
sively the  extent  of  his  erudition,  and  the  greatness  of  his 
devotion  to  literature.  These  were  recognized  by  the  Uni- 
versity of  Aberdeen,  from  whom  he  received  the  honorary 
degree  of  D.D.  He  was,  also,  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  Edinburgh.  Generally,  he  was  held  in  high 
esteem,  both  as  a  divine,  and  a  man  of  letters.  His  poems 
contain  many  passages  of  great  beauty.  He  continued  in 
the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties,  as  a  Christian  minister, 
until  his  decease  in  1814,  at  the  advanced  age  of  fourscore 
years. 

His  poetic  skill  is  fairly  exhibited  in  the  following  ex- 
tract from  his  "  Providence "  in  which  Wisdom  thus 
speaks : 

"  'Tis  mine  to  raise 
The  desolate  of  heart ;  to  bend  the  brow 
Of  stubborn  pride ;  to  bid  reluctant  ire 
Subside ;  to  tame  rude  nature  to  the  rein 
Of  virtue.     What  though,  screened  from  mortal  view, 
I  walk  the  deepening  gloom  ?    What  though  my  ways, 
Remote  from  thought's  bewildered  search,  are  wrapt 


THOMAS  OLIVEES.  479 

In  triple  darkness  ?    Yet  I  work  the  springs 
Of  life,  and  to  the  general  good  direct 
Th'  obsequious  means  to  move. — O  ye !  who,  tossed 
On  life's  tumultuous  ocean,  eye  the  shore, 
Yet  far  removed ;  and  wait  the  happy  hour, 
When  slumber  on  her  downy  couch  shall  lull 
Your  cares  to  sweet  repose ;  yet  bear  awhile, 
And  I  will  guide  you  to  the  balmy  climes 
Of  rest ;  will  lay  you  by  the  silver  stream 
Crowned  with  elysian  bowers,  where  peace  extends 
Her  blooming  olive,  and  the  tempest  pours 
Its  killiag  blasts  no  more. — Thus  Wisdom  speaks 
To  man ;  thus  calls  him  through  th'  external  form 
Of  Nature,  through  Religion's  fuller  noon, 
Through  life's  bewildering  mazes,  to  observe 
A  Providence  in  all." 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 
1725-1799. 

Early  in  August,  1752,  George  Whitefield  was  at  Bristol, 
England.  Crowds,  as  usual,  pressed  to  hear  the  mighty- 
preacher.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  he  preached  from  the 
words, — "  Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire  ? " 
One  of  his  hearers,  that  day,  was  a  wandering  shoemaker, 
who  had  come  three  hours  before  the  time  of  service,  to 
secure  a  good  position.  "When  the  sermon  began,"  he 
says  of  himself,  "  I  was  certainly  a  dreadful  enemy  of  God, 
and  to  all  that  is  good  ;  and  one  of  the  most  profligate  and 
abandoned  young  men  living ;  but,  by  the  time  it  was  ended, 
I  was  become  a  new  creature," — "  in  consequence  of  which, 
I  broke  off  all  my  evil  practices,  and  forsook  all  my  wicked 
and  foolish  companions  without  delay ;  and  gave  myself 
up  to  God  and  his  service  with  my  whole  heart. " 

This  was  Thomas  Olivers  —  born  at  Tregonan,  Mont- 
gomeryshire, Wales,  in  1725,  and,  in  1729,  deprived  of  both 


480  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

of  his  parents.  A  distant  relative,  Mr.  Tredor,  a  farmer  at 
Forden,  in  the  same  county,  had  brought  him  up.  At 
eighteen,  he  was  bound  to  a  shoemaker  ;  but,  after  a  time, 
such  was  his  profligacy,  he  was  compelled  to  quit  the  place. 
He  had  lived  awhile  at  Shrewsbury,  then  at  Wrexham  ;  had 
suifered  from  small-pox,  gone  into  debt,  and  evaded  pay- 
ment. He  was  now  twenty-six  years  old,  and  had  come 
to  Bristol  to  practice  his  craft.  He  was,  truly,  "  a  brand 
plucked  out  of  the  fire."  His  conversion  was  thorough. 
He  restored  what  he  had  taken ;  paid  off  all  his  debts  ; 
bought  a  horse,  and  rode  from  place  to  place,  and  every- 
where told  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  his  soul.  He  joined 
one  of  John  Wesley's  societies,  at  Bradford,  Wiltshire  ; 
and  in  October,  1753,  Wesley  sent  him,  as  an  itinerant 
preacher,  into  Cornwall.  In  the  course  of  the  next  twenty- 
five  years,  on  that  one  horse,  he  rode  in  the  service  of  the 
GosjDel  about  100,000  miles. 

He  gave  himself  to  reading ;  and,  being  of  a  lively  dis- 
position, and  sanguine  temperament,  was  esteemed  one  of 
the  best  preachers  in  the  Connection.  Wesley  had  a  high 
regard  for  him,  and,  in  1775,  stationed  him  at  London,  as 
"Corrector  of  the  Press."  He  wrote  several  small  pam 
phlets  in  defence  of  Wesley,  and  in  reply  to  Hill  and  Top 
lady.  Both  of  these  gentlemen  spoke  of  him  very  dispar- 
agingly. Sir  Richard  Hill  called  him  :  "  Thomas  Olivers, 
the  Cobbler."  Toplady,  in  allusion  to  him,  says :  "  Let  his 
cobblers  keep  to  their  stalls";  and,  also,  in  that  sarcastic 
language  which  he  had  so  fully  at  command,  he  gives  a 
full-length  portrait  of  Olivers, — making  Wesley  say : 

"  I've  Thomas  Olivers,  the  cobbler, 
No  stall  in  England  hokls  a  nobler, 
A  wight  of  talents  universal, 
Whereof  I'll  give  a  brief  rehearsal : — 
He  wields,  beyond  most  other  men, 
His  awl,  his  razor,  and  his  pen ; 
My  beard  he  shaves,  repairs  my  shoe. 
And  writes  my  panegyric  too ; 
He,  with  one  brandish  of  his  quill, 
Can  kaock  down  Toplady  and  Hill ; 


THOMAS  OLIVEES.  481 

With  equal  ease,  whene'er  there's  need, 
Can  darn  my  stockings  and  my  creed ; 
Can  drive  a  nail,  or  ply  the  needle. 
Hem  handkerchief,  and  scrape  the  fiddle: 
Chop  logic  as  an  ass  chews  thistle, 
More  skillfully  than  you  can  whistle ; 
And  then,  when  he  philosopliises. 
No  son  of  Crispin  half  so  wise  is. 
Of  all  my  ragged  regiment. 
This  cobbler  gives  me  most  content ; 
My  forgeries'  and  faith's  defender, 
My  barber,  champion  and  shoe-mender." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Mends  of  Wesley  speak  of  his 
pamphlets  as  "  creditable  to  his  talents,"  and  of  his  logic 
as  more  than  a  match  for  his  opponents.  By  far  the  most 
"  creditable  "  thing  that  he  ever  wrote,  was  his  noble  hymn, 

"The  God  of  Abraham  praise,"  etc., 
in  twelve  stanzas.  The  occasion  of  its  composition  was 
this :  Being  in  attendance  on  a  Conference  held  at  London, 
in  1770,  and  a  guest  of  John  Bakewell,  he  visited  the  Jews' 
Synagogue,  and  heard  the  Rabbi,  Signor  Leoni,  sing  an  air 
that  greatly  pleased  him.  He  returned  to  Mr.  Bakewell's, 
and,  at  his  house  in  Westminster,  immediately  composed 
this  hymn  for  the  tune  that  had  so  charmed  him.  It  was 
soon  after  published  with  the  caption,— "A  Hymn  to  the 
God  of  Abraham,  in  three  Parts.  Adapted  to  a  celebrated 
Air,  sung  by  the  Priest,  Signor  Leoni,  etc.,  at  the  Jews' 
Synagogue,  London."  Of  this  hymn,  Montgomery  uses 
the  following  language,  in  his  "  Introductory  Essay  "  to  his 
"  Christian  Psalmist " : 

"  There  is  not  in  our  language  a  lyric  of  more  majestic 
style,  more  elevated  thought,  or  more  glorious  imagery ; 
its  structure,  indeed,  is  unattractive ;  and,  on  account  of 
the  short  lines,  occasionally  uncouth ;  but,  like  a  stately 
pile  of  architecture,  severe  and  simple  in  design,  it  strikes 
less  on  the  first  view,  than  after  deliberate  examination, 
when  its  proportions  become  more  graceful,  its  dimensions 
expand,  and  the  mind  itseK  grows  greater  in  contemplat- 
ing it." 

31 


482  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Olivers  had,  at  an  earlier  date  (1757  or  '8),  written  a  judg- 
ment hymn  in  twenty  stanzas,  to  which,  some  years  later,  he 
added  sixteen  stanzas  ;  and  of  which  the  first  and  second, 
fourth  and  fifth  are  here  given,  as  amended  by  himself : 

"  Come,  immortal  King  of  glory  I 
Now  with  all  thy  saints  appear ; 
While  astonished  worlds  adore  thee, 
And  the  dead  thy  clarions  hear; 

Shine  refulgent, 
And  thy  deity  maintain. 

"  Hail!  the  world's  adored  Creator! 
In  thy  radiant  vesture  seen : 
Hail !  the  Lord  of  life  and  nature ! 
Hail !  th'  almighty  Nazarene ! 

They  who  pierced  him. 
Every  eye  shall  see  him  come. 

"  Lo!  he  comes  with  clouds  descending! 
Hark !  the  trump  of  God  is  blown ; 
And,  th'  archangel's  voice  attending, 
Makfe  the  high  procession  known : 

Sons  of  Adam ! 
Rise  and  stand  before  your  Grod. 

"  Crowns  and  sceptres  fall  befoie  him. 
Kings  and  conquerors  own  his  sway; 
Haughtiest  monarchs  now  adore  him, 
WhUe  they  see  his  lightnings  play : 

How  triumiphant 
Is  the  world's  Redeemer  now ! " 

Por  this  hymn,  Olivers  composed  the  tune,  "Helmsley," 
or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  "  Olivers," — formerly  much 
in  use. 

He  continued  to  superintend  the  press  for  Wesley  in 
London,  and  particularly  to  edit  the  Arminian  Magazine, 
until  August,  1789,  when  Wesley  makes  this  entry  in  his 
journal :— "  Saturday,  8th. — I  settled  all  my  temporal  busi- 
ness, and,  in  particular,  chose  a  new  person  to  prepare  the 
Arminian  Magazine ;  being  obliged,  however  unwillingly, 
to  drop  Mr.  Olivers,  for  only  these  two  reasons :   1.  The 


HENEY  USTICK  ONDEEDONK:.  483 

errata  are  insufferable ;  I  have  borne  them  for  these  twelve 
years,  but  can  bear  them  no  longer.  2.  Several  pieces  are 
inserted  without  my  knowledge,  both  in  prose  and  verse." 
T\^en  considerably  advanced  in  life,  Olivers  had  mar- 
ried Miss  Green,  a  young  Scotch  woman,  of  piety  and  good 
family.  Deprived  of  his  position,  and  subjected  to  straits, 
he  became  careless  in  his  habits,  and  slovenly  in  his  person. 
A  small  sum  was  allowed  him  by  the  Conference,  and  he 
served  as  a  Local  preacher.  He  died,  suddenly,  in  March, 
1799,  and  his  remains  were  deposited  in  Wesley's  vault, 
New  Chapel  Burying  Ground,  City  Road,  London. 


HENRY  USTICK  ONDERDONK. 
1789-1858. 

Bishop  0]srDERD0]S"K  contributed  to  the  Selection  of 
Hymns  adopted  (1826)  by  the  General  Convention  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  U.  S.  A.,  Nos.  14,  105,  106, 
109,  131,  195,  203,  208,  and  211 ;  also.  Psalms  16,  23,  and  59. 
He  was  one  of  the  Committee  that  prepared  the  Selection. 

He  was  bom  in  1789  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where 
his  parents.  Dr.  John  (son  of  Hendrick)  Onderdonk  and 
Deborah  Ustick,  then  resided.  He  was  trained,  in  accord- 
ance with  his  father's  pursuit,  for  the  medical  profession. 
He  was  educated  in  his  native  city,  graduating  at  Colum- 
bia College,  in  1805.  Several  years  were  spent  abroad, 
mostly  in  connection  with  the  University  of  Edinl^urgh, 
from  which  he  received  (1810)  the  degree  of  M.D.  Return- 
ing home,  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  medicine  at  New 
York,  and  was  associated  with  Dr.  Valentine  Mott  in  con- 
ducting (1816)  the  NeiD  YorTc  Medical  Journal.  The  same 
year  he  abandoned  his  early  profession,  for  the  ministry. 
After  a  brief  course  of  theology,  he  was  ordained  (1815)  a 
deacon  of  the  Episcopal  Church.     His  first  charge  was  a 


484  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

new  enterprise  at  Canandaigua,  where  he  began  Ms  labors, 
in  January,  1816,  as  a  missionary  ;  and  two  years  later,  he 
was  made  the  Kector  of  the  church.  In  1820,  he  removed 
to  BrooMyn,  New  York,  to  take  charge  of  St.  Ann's  Church, 
where  he  continued  for  seven  years. 

Bishop  White,  of  Philadelphia,  having  become  quite  in- 
firm, Dr.  Onderdonk  was  chosen  Assistant  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  of  Pennsylvania,  and  consecrated,  October  25, 1827. 
He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  the  same  year, 
from  Columbia  College.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the 
theological  controversies  of  the  times.  To  the  Protestant 
Episco2yalian,  he  contributed  (November  and  December, 
1830)  an  essay  on  "Episcopacy  Tested  by  Scripture,"  re- 
published as  a  pamphlet  shortly  after;  and,  finally,  ex- 
panded into  a  considerable  volume,  and  published  (1835), 
as  " Episcopacy  Examined  and  Re-examined."  The  same 
year  he  published  an  "  Essay  on  Regeneration,"  and  "  Fam- 
ily Devotions  from  the  Liturgy."  At  various  times,  he  had 
made  contributions  to  several  medical  and  religious  jour- 
nals, and  was  regarded  as  an  able  and  learned  controver- 
sialist. 

Bishop  Onderdonk  was  suspended  from  the  functions  of 
the  bishopric  and  the  ministry,  October  21, 1844,  and  passed 
several  years  in  retirement.  In  1851,  he  published  two  vol- 
umes of  "  Sermons  and  Episcopal  Charges,"  of  a  very  high 
character.  He  was  restored  to  the  ministry,  in  October, 
1856,  and  died,  December  6, 1858.  The  following  is  one  of 
his  hymns : 

"  Sinner!  rouse  thee  from  thy  sleep, 
Wake,  and  o'er  thy  folly  weep ; 
Raise  thy  spirit  dark  and  dead, 
Jesus  waits  his  light  to  shed. 

"  Wake  from  sleep,  arise  from  death, 
See  the  bright  and  living  path : 
Watchful  tread  that  path ;  be  wise, 
Leave  thy  folly,  seek  the  skies. 

*'  Leave  thy  folly,  cease  from  crime, 
From  this  hoxir  redeem  thy  time; 


EDWARD  OSLER.  48f> 

Life  secure  without  delay, 
Evil  is  the  mortal  day. 

"  Be  not  blind  and  foolish  still; 
Called  of  Jesus,  learn  his  will: 
Jesus  calls  from  death  and  night, 
Jesus  waits  to  shed  his  light," 


EDWARD  OSLER. 

1798-1863. 

In  a  Collection  of  "  Psalms  and  Hymns  adapted  to  the 
Services  of  tlie  Churcli  of  England,"  compiled  by  the  Rev. 
William  John  Hall,  London,  1836,  are  found  fifty  hymns 
contributed  by  Mr.  Osier.  He  was  born  in  January,  1798, 
at  Falmouth,  England.  He  was  educated  '-'under  the  roof 
of  a  Dissenting  minister";  and  was  trained  for  the  medical 
profession,  first  with  Dr.  Carvosso,  of  Falmouth,  and  then 
at  Guy's  Hospital,  London.  He  was  appointed  (1819)  resi- 
dent house  surgeon  of  Swansea  Infirmary,  and  practiced 
medicine,  also,  in  the  town  for  the  next  six  years.  He  pub- 
lished a  work,  written  for  the  Linnsean  Society  (of  which 
he  was  a  Fellow),  entitled,  "  Burrowing  and  Bormg  Marine 
Animals." 

At  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  he  left  Swansea  for  London, 
and  devoted  himself  to  literary  and  religious  pursuits.  A 
visit  to  the  West  Indies  was  commemorated  on  his  return 
(1830)  by, "  The  Voyage :  a  Poem  written  at  Sea,  and  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  Hlustrated  by  Papers  on  Natural  His- 
tory." While  at  London  and  at  Bath,  he  published  "The 
Church  and  the  Bible";  "The  Church  and  Dissent  consid- 
ered in  their  Practical  Influence"  (1836);  "The  Church 
and  King"  (1837) ;  and  "The  Uie  of  Admiral  Viscount  Ex- 
mouth"  (1837),— a  work  of  considerable  literary  merit. 
During  this  period  he  was  serving  "  The  Society  for  Pro- 


486  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

moting  Cliristian  Knowledge."  He  returned,  in  1841,  to 
his  native  county,  and  became  tlie  editor  of  The  Royal 
Cornwall  Gazette,  at  Truro,  wMch  he  conducted  with  great 
ability  and  usefulness  to  the  end  of  his  days.  He  died  at 
Ti^uro,  March  7,  1863,  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 
He  was  married  three  times. 

He  wrote  several  hymns  to  accompany  his  two  works,  on 
"Dissent,"  and  "The  King."  The  following  is  the  95th  of 
"The  Mitre  Hymn-Book"  (Hall's) : 

"  Come,  magnify  the  Saviour's  love; 

Come,  praise  our  great  Redeemer's  naxae, 
Who  left  the  Father's  throne  above, 

And  stooped  for  us  to  death  and  shame: 
At  God's  right  hand  exalted  now, 

With  glory,  majesty,  and  power, 
Let  every  knee  before  him  bow. 

And  every  tongue  his  name  adore. 

"  Thy  lowly  spirit.  Lord!  impart; 

With  holy  fear  our  bosoms  fill ; 
Oh !  give  the  meek  obedient  heart, 

To  suffer  and  to  do  thy  will ; 
Thy  cross,  blest  Saviour!  may  we  bear; 

Mark  the  example  thou  hast  given ; 
Follow  in  all  thy  footsteps  here : 

Rise  to  thy  glorious  rest  in  heaven." 


EAY  PALMER. 

1808 . 

When  Dr.  Palmer  was  asked  for  the  origin  of  Ms  first 
and  best  hymn, — 

"My  faith  looks  up  to  thee,"  etc., 

he  replied :  [It  was]  "  written  because  it  was  born  in  my 
heart,  and  demanded  expression.     I  gave  form  to  what  I 


RAY  PALMER.  487 

felt,  by  writing,  with  little  effort,  the  stanzas.  I  wrote 
them  with  very  tender  emotion,  and  ended  the  last  lines 
with  tears."  He  was,  at  the  time,  in  New  York,  and 
had  been  in  attendance  on  Mr,  Nettleton's  preaching 
at  the  Brick  Chnrch.  The  manuscript  was  put  away 
in  his  pocket-book.  More  than  a  year  later,  being  at 
Boston,  Mass.,  he  was  asked  by  LoweU  Mason  for  a  con- 
tribution to  his  "  Spiritual  Songs,"  then  in  the  course 
of  publication.  He  gave  the  manuscript  to  Mr.  Mason, 
who  read  it  carefully,  and  said  :  "  I  should  not  be  surprised, 
if  you  should,  in  future  years,  be  better  known  by  this 
hymn  than  by  anything  else."  It  has  proved,  unquestion- 
ably, his  most  popular  production.  It  is  found  in  all  the 
hymn-books,  and  has  been  translated  into  many  languages. 
Dr.  Palmer  is  the  son  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Palmer,  a  na- 
tive of  Little  Compton,  li.  I.,  where  he  himself  was  born, 
November  12, 1808.  One  of  his  sweetest  sonnets,  in  later 
years,  intimates  the  loving  care  wdth  which  he  was  trained : 

"  My  angel-mother!    Long,  long  years  have  gone 

Since  thou,  yet  yoimg  and  fair,  passed  from  my  sight. 

E'er  since,  I  see  thy  gentle  face  each  day, 
And  in  the  silent  night,  and  still  there  play, 
In  those  soft  eyes,  the  self -same  smiles,  that  made 
Thy  presence  a  deep  joy,  in  days  of  yore." 

He  was  educated  at  home  until  his  thirteenth  year,  when 
he  went  to  Boston,  and  shortly  after  became  a  clerk  in  a 
dry-goods  store.  He  was  led  to  attend  on  the  ministry  of 
the  Rev.  Sereno  Edwards  D wight,  D.D.,  at  that  time  the 
pastor  of  the  Park  Street  Congregational  Church,  of  which 
church  soon  after  he  became  a  member.  His  attention  was 
now  directed  to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  and  he  spent 
three  years  at  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass.,  in  prep- 
aration for  college.  He  then  entered  Yale  College,  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  where  he  graduated  in  1830.  His  theologi- 
cal studies  were  pursued,  under  pastoral  supervision,  for 
one  year  at  New  Yoi^k,  and  three  years  at  New  Haven. 


488  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

At  the  latter  place,  lie  was  associated  witli  Ethan  A.  An- 
drews, LL.D.,  in  conducting  a  Young  Ladies'  Institute. 

Having  been  duly  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel,  he  re- 
ceived a  call  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Central  Congregational 
Church  of  Bath,  Me.,  where  he  was  ordained,  July  23, 1835. 
In  1847,  he  went  abroad  for  his  health,  and  published,  in  the 
columns  of  the  Christian  Mirror,  Portland,  Me.,  an  ac- 
count of  what  he  saw  and  heard  in  Europe.  He  accepted, 
in  1850,  a  call  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Albany,  N.  Y.  In  1865,  he  was  appointed 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  American  Congregational 
Union,  and,  on  his  acceptance,  removed  to  the  city  of  New 
York.  He  resigned  the  Secretaryship  in  1878,  and  has 
since  been  engaged  in  pastoral  work  in  Newark,  N.  J. 

Dr.  Palmer  is  well  known  as  a  gifted  preacher  and  a  pol- 
ished writer,  as  well  as  a  graceful  poet.  He  has  made 
frequent  and  valuable  contributions  to  the  periodical 
press.  He  is  the  author  of  several  volumes,  both  of 
prose  and  poetry:  "Memoirs  and  Select  Remains  of 
Charles  Pond"  (1829);  "The  Spirit's  Life,  a  Poem" 
(1837) ;  "  How  to  Live,  or  Memoii'S  of  Mrs.  C.  L.  Wat- 
son"; "Doctrinal  Text  Book";  and  "Spiritual  Improve- 
ment, or  Aids  to  Growth  in  Grace "  (1839) ;  —  the  last 
republished  (1851)  as  "  Closet  Hours."  "  What  is  Truth  ? 
or  Hints  on  the  Formation  of  Religious  Opinions "  (1860) 
has  had  an  extensive  circulation,  and  has  been  repub- 
lished in  England.  "Remember  me,  or  Tlie  Holy  Com- 
munion," and  "  Hymns  and  Sacred  Pieces,  with  Miscella- 
neous Poems,"  appeared  in  1865,  followed,  in  1868,  by 
"Hymns  of  my  Holy  Hours,  and  other  Pieces";  and,  in 
1873,  by  "Home,  or  the  Unlost  Paradise."  A  complet/C 
edition  of  his  "  Poetical  Works  "  was  issued  in  1875. 

His  hymn  on  "  The  Tranquil  Hour  "  is  quite  character- 
istic : 

"  Thou,  Saviour!  from  thy  throne  on  high, 
Enrobed  in  light  and  girt  with  power, 
Dost  note  the  thought,  the  prayer,  the  sigh 
Of  hearts  that  love  the  tranquil  hour. 


EOSWELL  PARK.  489 

"  Oft  thou  thyseK  didst  steal  away, 
At  eventide,  from  labor  done, 
In  some  still  peaceful  shade  to  pray, 
Till  morning  watches  were  begun. 

"  Thou  hast  not,  dearest  Lord!  forgot 
Thy  wrestlings  on  Judaea's  hills ; 
And  still  thou  lov'st  the  quiet  spot 
Where  praise  the  lowly  spirit  fills. 

"  Now  to  our  souls,  withdrawn  awhile 

From  earth's  rude  noise,  thy  face  reveal ; 
And,  as  we  worship,  kindly  smile. 
And  for  thine  own  our  spirits  seal. 

"  To  thee  we  bring  each  grief  and  care. 
To  thee  we  fly  while  tempests  lower ; 
Thou  wilt  the  weary  burdens  bear 
Of  hearts  that  love  the  tranquil  hour." 


ROSWELL  PARK. 
1807-1869. 

The  Rev.  Dk.  Park  was  bom,  October  1,  1807,  at 
Lebanon,  Conn.  He  received  a  military  education  at  West 
Point,  and  in  1831,  graduated  at  Union  College,  IST.  Y. 
He  was  appointed  a  Lieutenant  of  the  United  States 
Military  Engineer  Corps,  and  served  from  1831  to  1836. 
Retiring  from  tlie  Army,  he  received  the  appointment 
of  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  and  Geometry  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania. 

He  published  (1836)  his  "  Selections  of  Juvenile  and  Mis- 
cellaneous Poems";  also  (1840)  "A  Sketch  of  the  History 
and  Topography  of  West  Point  and  of  the  United  States 
Military  Academy";  and  (1841)  "Pantology,  or  a  Syste- 
matic Survey  of  Human  Knowledge." 

The  attention  of  Prof.  Park  was  now  directed  towards 


490  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

the  Cliristian  ministry ;  and,  in  1843,  he  was  ordained  a 
minister  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  became 
Rector  of  Christ  Church,  Pomfret,  Conn.  Three  years 
later  (1846),  he  also  took  charge  of  Christ  Church  Hall,  a 
high  school,  connected  with  his  parish.  Here  he  remained 
until  1852,  when  he  visited  Europe  ;  and,  on  his  return,  be- 
came the  President  of  Racine  College,  Wisconsin,  of  which, 
in  1859,  he  was  made  Chancellor.  He  issued  (1853)  "A 
Hand-Book  for  American  Ti-avellers  in  Europe."  The  hon- 
orary degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Norwich 
University,  Vermont.  He  removed  to  Chicago,  111.,  in  1863, 
and  founded  Immanuel  Hall,  a  literary  and  scientific  school, 
of  which  he  continued  to  be  the  proprietor  and  rector  until 
his  decease,  July  16, 1869,  in  his  sixty-second  year. 

Dr.  Park  was  a  vigorous  writer  and  a  good  scholar.  He 
made  frequent  contributions  to  periodical  literature,  and 
published,  in  addition,  occasional  addresses,  lectures,  and 
essays.  His  Book  of  Poems  was  republished  (1856),  with 
the  title, — "  Jerusalem,  and  other  Poems." 


HARRIET  PARR. 

1828 . 

The  touching  lyric,  beginning 

"  Hear  my  prayer,  O  heavenly  Father  1 " 

is  from  a  contribution,  by  Miss  Parr,  to  the  Christmas 
Number  of  Household  Words  (1856),  edited  by  Dickens. 
It  appeared  as  an  incident  in  a  Tale,  called  "  The  Wreck  of 
the  Golden  Mary."  Escaping  from  the  wreck,  two  boys, 
in  one  of  the  boats,  beguile  the  time  by  telling  stories. 
Among  the  old  things  then  recollected,  is  "  a  child's  hymn  " 
that  one  of  the  boys  "used  to  say  at  his  mother's  knee"; 
and  he,  at  the  request  of  the  other  boy,  repeats  it. 


WILLIAM  BOURNE  OLIVER  PEABODY.  491 

Miss  Paee  is  a  native  of  the  city  of  York,  England,  and 
has  thus  far  shielded  herself  and  her  personal  history  under 
the  nom  deplume  of  "  Holme  Lee."  She  was  born  in  1828, 
and  began  to  write  her  numerous  works  of  fiction  in  1854. 
In  that  year  she  published  "  Maude  Talbot."  "  Thorney 
Hall,"  and  "  Gilbert  Massenger,"  appeared  in  1855;  "  Kathie 
Brande,"  in  1856;  "Sylvan  Holt's  Daughter,"  in  1858; 
"Hawksview,"  and  "Against  Wind  and  Tide,"  in  1859; 
"Wortlebank  Diary,"  and  "Legends  from  Fairy  Land," 
in  1860  ;  "Warp  and  Woof,"  and  "  Wonderful  Adventures 
of  Tuflongbo  and  his  Elfin  Company,"  in  1861;  "Anne 
Warleigh's  Fortunes,"  and  the  "  True  Pathetic  History  of 
Poor  Match,"  in  1863;  "In  the  Silver  Age:  Essays— that 
is,  Dispersed  Meditations,"  in  1864 ;  "  Mr.  Wynyard's 
Ward,"  in  1867 ;  and,  "  Contrast,  or  the  School  Fellows," 
and  "  Basil  Godfrey's  Caprice,"  in  1868.  It  is  not  known 
that  she  has  written  any  other  hymns. 


WILLIAM  BOURNE  OLIVER  PEABODY. 

1799-1847. 

William  Bouene  Olivee  Peabody  and  Oliver  William 
Bourne  Peabody  were  the  twin  children  of  Oliver  Peabody, 
of  Exeter,  N.  H. ,  where  they  were  born,  July  9, 1799.  They 
were  sent,  in  1809,  to  Phillips  Academy,  in  their  native 
town,  then  under  the  care  of  Benjamin  Abbott,  LL.D.  At 
the  early  age  of  fourteen,  they  entered  the  Sophomore  Class 
of  Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  and  graduated  with 
distinction  in  1816.  William,  on  this  occasion,  delivered 
an  English  poem,  of  marked  excellence. 

At  their  graduation,  the  brothers  parted;  Oliver,  to 
study  law  (though  later  in  life  he  became  a  minister),  and 
William,  to  study  theology.  The  latter,  having  served  as 
Tutor  in  the  Academy  at  Exeter,  spent  two  years  at  Cam- 


492  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

bridge  as  a  pupil  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ware.  In  1819,  he  began 
to  preach,  and,  October  12, 1820,  in  his  twenty-second  year, 
he  was  ordained  the  pastor  of  the  newly  formed  Unitarian 
Church,  at  Springfield,  Mass.  He  married,  September  8, 
1824,  Miss  Elizabeth  Amelia  White,  the  daughter  of  Moses 
White,  of  Lancaster,  N.  H. 

His  wife  was  removed  by  death,  October  4, 1843,  and  her 
only  daughter,  eighteen  years  of  age,  in  less  than  four 
months  afterwards.  His  own  death  followed.  May  28, 1847. 
He  was  greatly  beloved  by  his  people,  and  universally  es- 
teemed as  a  scholar,  and  Christian  gentleman.  He  distin- 
guished himself  greatly  as  an  Ornithologist. 

In  1823,  he  published  a  "  Poetical  Catechism  for  the  Use 
of  the  Young."  The  most  of  his  Poems  were  written  in 
his  early  ministry,  and  exhibit  x^^culiar  grace  and  beauty. 
In  addition  to  the  Hymn  on  " The  Autumn  Evening"  (1823) 
by  which  he  is  so  well  known,  his  "  Hymn  of  Nature," 
"Monadnock,"  "The  Winter  Mght,"  and  "Death,"  have 
been  greatly  and  justly  admired.  His  later  poetic  effusions 
were  chiefly  contributed  to  TJie  ClirisUan  Examiner  and 
other  periodicals,  for  which  he  wrote  considerably.  His 
"Report  on  the  Birds  of  the  Commonwealth"  (1839)  elic- 
ited deserved  commendation.  To  Sparks'  "  Library  of 
American  Biography,"  he  contributed  the  Lives  of  Alex- 
ander Wilson,  Cotton  Mather,  David  Brainerd,  James  Ogle- 
thorpe, and  John  Sullivan ;  and  to  the  North  American 
Remew,  from  1828  to  1847,  not  less  than  forty-eight  Arti- 
cles. He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  in  1842, 
from  Harvard  College. 

His  "  Sermons,  with  a  Memoir,"  partly  prepared  by  his 
twin  brother  (who  survived  him  little  more  than  a  year), 
appeared  in  1848  ;  and  his  "  Literary  Remains,"  edited  by 
his  son  Everett  (who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  April  6, 
1862),  in  1850.  Prof.  Andrew  P.  Peabody,  D.D.,  speaks  of 
the  two  brothers  "  as  men  wlio  consecrated  the  noblest  en- 
dowments and  ripest  attainments  of  intellect  to  the  cause 
of  truth,  progress,  humanity,  and  religion." 

Dr.  William  B.  O.  Peabody  took  a  great  interest  in 


JOHN  PEACOCK.  493 

Hymnology ;  and,  in  1835,  compiled  and  published  a  Se- 
lection of  Hymns  for  the  use  of  his  own  congregation, 
which  is  commonly  known  as  "  The  Springfield  Collection," 
in  which  several  of  his  own  hymns  were  inserted  anon- 
ymously. The  following  Hymn  on  "  Sunrise  "  was  written 
in  1823 : 

"  See  the  streaks  of  daylight  swim 
On  the  heaving-  ocean-brim ! 
Now  the  waves  begin  to  flow 
With  a  warmer,  ruddier  glow ; 
Now  the  gathering  lustre  shines 
On  the  loftiest  mountain  pines, 
And  the  far-off  village  spires 
Redden  in  the  kindling  fires. 

"  There! — he  bursts  upon  the  sight, 
Wrapped  in  flames,  intensely  bright ! 
Milder  now  the  cool  wind  blows ; 
All  is  waking  from  repose ; 
Now  the  laborer's  steps  once  more 
Issue  from  the  opening  door ; 
And  the  busy  echo  sounds 
From  the  woods  and  rising  grounds. 

"  God  hath  made  the  sun  to  shine, — 
Image  of  his  love  divine ; 
Thus  his  rays  of  mercy  fall 
Liberally  alike  on  all ; 
Thus  he  lights  our  happy  way 
To  the  labor  of  the  day, 
And,  when  all  our  cares  are  past, 
Leads  us  up  to  heaven  at  last." 


JOHN   PEACOCK. 

JoHis-  Peacock  was  the  author  of  "  Songs  of  Praise,  com- 
posed from  the  Holy  Scriptures."  Mve  of  the  "  Songs "  are 
reproduced  in  Dobell's  Selection.    Nothing  is  known  of  the 


494  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

author.   He  was  probably  a  Dissenting  minister  in  England, 
and  the  same  that  published  (1768)  "  A  Funeral  Discourse 
on  W.  Johnson."     Some  of  his  hymns  are  not  without  po 
etic  merit,  as  the  following  stanzas  show : 

"  Blest  angels!  aid  us  with  your  song, 
To  whom  sublimer  notes  belong; 
Your  golden  harps  and  voices  join, 
To  sing  Immanuel's  love  divine. 

**  Lo!  he,  who  on  the  cross  was  slain, 
Enthroned  in  glory,  lives  again  I 
At  once  he  bursts  death's  fatal  bands, 
In  vain  the  power  of  hell  withstands. 

' '  Saints !  shout  with  joy  yotir  risen  Lord, 
And  spread  his  boundless  love  abroad : 
Let  every  heart  the  Saviour  bless. 
And  every  tongue  his  name  confess." 


EDWARD  PERROJ^ET. 

1792. 

Edwaed  PEKROisrET  was  the  author  of  the  hymn, 

"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name ! "  etc. 

Both  in  its  original  state,  and  in  its  abridged  form  as  now 
generally  sung,  it  has  long  been  a  great  favorite.  It  was 
written  as  early  as  1779,  the  tune  of  "  Miles'  Lane  "  having 
been  set  to  the  first  stanza  of  this  hymn  and  published  in 
the  Gospel  Magazine  for  that  year.  This  tune  was  com- 
posed for  the  hymn,  by  Mr.  Shrubsole,  an  intimate  friend 
of  Perronet,  and  the  organist  of  Spa  Fields  Chapel,  Lon- 
don, from  1784  until  his  death  in  1806.  The  hymn  itself 
appeared  in  eight  stanzas,  anonymously,  in  the  Magazine 
for  1780.      Dr.  Rippon  introduced  it  into  his  Selection 


EDWAED  PERRONET.  495 

(1787),  omitting  the  second,  third,  and  sixth  stanzas,  mod- 
ifying the  others,  and  adding  two  stanzas  o"f  his  own.  His 
version  of  it,  with  slight  alterations,  and  with  the  omission 
of  one  of  his  two  stanzas,  has  since  been  generally  adopted. 

In  England,  the  tune  "Miles'  Lane"  has  usually  accom- 
panied the  hymn.  But  in  America,  for  a  long  time,  it  has 
been  sung  almost  exclusively  to  the  tune  "Coronation," 
composed  for  it  (1793)  by  Oliver  Holden,  of  Charlestown, 
Mass.,  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  a  musician  by  choice. 

Two  years  before  its  appearance  in  Dr.  Rippon's  Selec- 
tion, the  hymn,  in  its  original  form,  appeared  in  a  volume 
of  216  pages,  with  the  title,—"  Occasional  Verses,  Moral  and 
Sacred.  Published  for  the  Instruction  and  Amusement  of 
the  Candidly  Serious  and  Religious.  London.  Printed 
for  the  Editor.  1785."  This  volume  is  known  to  have 
been  the  production  of  Edward  Perronet,  of  Canterbury, 
England. 

Among  the  most  steadfast  and  ardent  friends  of  John 
and  Charles  Wesley,  is  to  be  numbered  the  Rev.  Vincent 
Perronet,  the  Vicar  of  Shoreham,  Kent.  He  had  a  large 
family — at  least  six  sons  and  four  daughters.  Two  of  his 
sons,  CJiarles  and  Edward,  born,  probably,  about  the  time 
of  his  removal  to  Shoreham  (1726),  became  somewhat  noted 
in  the  Annals  of  Methodism.  They  were  "  men  of  educa- 
tion, talent,  and  piety."  Partaking  of  the  zeal  of  their  fa- 
ther, they  became,  about  1746,  preachers  of  the  Gospel  in 
connection  with  the  Wesleys — often  travelling  with  them 
in  their  evangelical  journeys. 

In  1755,  arose  the  question  of  separation  from  the  Church 
of  England,  and  the  organization  of  another  Church.  The 
brothers  Wesley  strenuously  opposed  it.  The  brothers  Per- 
ronet favored  it,  and  Charles  went  so  far  as  to  administer 
the  Lord's  Supper  to  the  societies.  Edward  Perronet,  a 
man  of  much  wit  as  well  as  poetry,  wrote,  and  published  in 
1756,  a  scathing  satire  on  the  Church  of  England,  entitled, 
— "  The  Mitre,  a  Satyricall  Poem,"  in  three  Cantos,  of  279 
pages.  The  Wesleys  were  exceedingly  irritated  by  this 
production,  and  succeeded  in  suppressing  and  destroying 


496  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

all  but  about  thirty  copies.  Extracts  from  it  are  given 
by  Tyerman,  in  liis  "  Life  and  Times  of  Rev.  Jolin  Wes- 
ley," II.  242-243.  The  Wesleys  broke  with  him  at  once. 
Charles  Wesley  wrote  a  furious  letter  about  "  The  Mitre," 
and  "  Ted  "  the  author,  in  which  he  accused  him  of  being 
the  head  and  front  of  all  the  disaffection  among  the 
preachers. 

Previous  to  this,  Perronet  had  married,  and  had  made 
Canterbury  his  home.  After  his  breach  with  the  Wesleys, 
he  preached  awhile  in  Lady  Huntingdon's  Connection,  but 
eventually  became  a  Dissenter.  He  procured  the  old  pal- 
ace of  the  archbishop,  and  fitted  it  wp  for  worship.  His 
venerable  father  died.  May  8,  1785,  in  his  ninety-second 
year  ;  and  he  himself,  January  2, 1792,  at  his  home  in  Can- 
terbury. 


MARY  [BOWLY]  PETERS. 

1856. 

t 

Mrs.  Petees  was  the  author  of  "  Hymns  intended  to 
help  the  Communion  of  Saints,"  a  small  volume,  contain- 
ing fifty-eight  numbers,  published  at  London,  in  1847. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Richard  Bowly,  of  Cirencester, 
England,  where  she  was  born.  She  became  the  wife  of  the 
Rev.  John  Mc William  Peters,  who,  in  1822,  was  instituted 
the  Rector  of  Quenington,  in  Gloucestershire ;  obtaining 
also  (1825)  the  Vicarage  of  Langford,  Berkshire,  with  the 
Chapehy  of  Little  Farringdon,  Oxfordshire.  She  was  left 
a  widow  in  1834.  In  addition  to  her  "  Hymns,"  she  pub- 
lished, in  seven  volumes,  "  The  World's  History  from  the 
Creation  to  the  Accession  of  Queen  Victoria."  Her  later 
years  were  passed  at  Clifton,  Gloucestershire,  where  she 
died,  July  29,  1856. 

Her  poetry  is  both  pleasing  and  impressive.  Her  hymn 
on  the  theme,  "  All  is  Well,"  exhibits  these  qualities  : 


ALEXANDER  PIRIE.  497 

"  Througli  the  lore  of  God,  our  Saviour, 

All  will  be  well ; 
Free  and  changeless  is  his  favor, 

All,  all  is  well : 
Precious  is  the  blood  that  healed  us; 
Perfect  is  the  grace  that  sealed  us ; 
Strong  the  hand  stretched  forth  to  shield  us; 

All  must  be  well. 

**  Though  we  pass  through  tribulation. 

All  will  be  well ; 
Ours  is  such  a  full  salvation, 

All,  all  is  well : 
Happy  still,  to  God  confiding. 
Fruitful,  if  in  Christ  abiding, 
Holy,  through  the  Spirit's  guidiag,— 

All  must  be  well. 

*'  We  expect  a  bright  to-morrow, 

All  will  be  well ; 
Faith  can  sing,  through  days  of  sorrow, 

All,  all  is  well : 
On  our  Father's  love  relying, 
Jesus  every  need  supplying, 
Or  in  living,  or  in  dying, 

All  must  be  well." 


ALEXANDER  PIRIE. 

1804. 

Alexaistder  Pieie  was  a  Scotcliman.  He  was  educated 
for  the  ministry  in  connection  witli  tlie  Antibnrglier  Synod 
of  tlie  Presbyterian  Clinrcli  of  Scotland.  He  was  ap- 
pointed (1760)  to  succeed  the  Rev.  John  Mason,  as  Teacher 
of  the  Philosophical  Class  in  the  Theological  Seminary. 
Mr.  Mason  (the  weU-known  pastor  of  the  Scotch  Church  in 
Cedar  Street,  New  York)  was  then  under  appointment  as  a 
32 


498  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

missionary  to  America,  and  migrated  to  New  York  in  the 
following  spring  (1761).  After  his  arrival,  lie  sent  home 
(1762)  urgent  entreaties  for  more  missionaries,  and  Mr. 
Pirie  was  licensed,  and  was  appointed,  with  Mr.  William 
Marshall,  to  go  to  America.  But,  in  August,  1763,  being 
charged  with  laxity  of  doctrine,  he  was  duly  brought  be- 
fore the  Synod,  and,  after  a  rigid  investigation,  was  de- 
prived of  his  license  as  a  probationer  for  the  ministry, 
excommunicated  from  the  Church,  and  rebuked  at  the  bar 
of  the  Synod. 

Shortly  after,  having  received  a  call  from  a  congregation 
at  Abernethy,  Scotland,  ^e  connected  himself  with  the 
Burgher  Synod.  Here,  too,  he  met  with  similar  treatment, 
being  suspended,  by  his  Presbytery,  from  the  ministry. 
He  then  abandoned  the  Secession  Church  wholly,  the  rea- 
sons for  his  course  being  given  (1769)  in  a  pamphlet,  enti- 
tled,— "A  Review  of  the  Principles  and  Conduct  of  the 
Seceders,"  etc.  He  now  connected  himself  with  the  Inde- 
pendents, and  became  the  minister  of  a  congregation  at 
Newburgh,  Fifeshire.  After  a  laborious  ministry,  remark- 
ably fertile  as  to  literary  results,  Mr.  Pirie  died  in  1804. 

He  i)nblished,  besides  many  pamphlets,  a  "  Dissertation 
on  Baptism  "  (1790)  ;  and  "  The  French  Revolution  ;  exhib- 
ited in  the  Light  of  the  Sacred  Oracles ;  or  a  Series  of 
Lectures  on  the  Prophecies  now  fulfilling  "  (1795).  These 
Lectures  show  that  he  was  an  "acute  Millenarian."  He 
proved  himself  a  false  prophet,  in  his  application  of  Daniel 
and  the  Apocalypse.  After  his  death,  his  "  Miscellaneous 
and  Posthumous  Works  "  (1805-1806),  in  six  volumes,  were 
published  at  Edinburgh  ;  and  (1807)  "  A  Dissertation  on 
the  Hebrew  Roots." 

He  was  the  author  of  the  excellent  hymn,  beginning 

"  Come,  let  us  join  in  songs  of  praise." 


ELIZABETH  [PAYSON]  PRENTISS.  499 

ELIZABETH  [PAYSON]  PRENTISS. 
1818-1878. 

Mrs.  Prentiss  was  the  youngest  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Edward  Payson,  D.D.,  for  many  years  the  pastor  of  the 
Second  Congregational  Church  of  Portland,  Me.,  and  Ann 
Louisa  Shipman,  of  New  Haven,  Conn.  She  was  born  at 
Portland,  October  26,  1818,  and  was  there  educated.  She 
married,  April  16,  1845,  the  Rev.  George  Lewis  Prentiss 
[D.D.],  then  recently  settled  over  a  Congregational  Church 
at  New  Bedford,  Mass.  In  the  spring  of  1851,  Mrs.  Pren- 
tiss became  a  resident  of  the  city  of  New  York,  her  husband 
having  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate  in  that  city ;  and 
here,  with  the  exception  of  a  sojourn  of  two  years  in  Eu- 
rope (1858-1860),  she  resided  the  remainder  of  her  life. 
Her  summers  were  spent  for  a  number  of  years  at  her 
charming  retreat  at  Dorset,  Vt.  ;  where,  after  a  brief  ill- 
ness, she  died,  August  13,  1878,  in  her  sixtieth  year. 

Mrs.  Prentiss  early  developed  great  literary  taste.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen,  she  became  a  contributor  to  the  YoutNs 
Companion.  Her  publications  have  been  numerous  and 
popular.  "Little  Susy's  Six  Birthdays"  appeared  in 
1853  ;  followed  by  :  "  Only  a  Dandelion,  and  other  Stories  " 
(18.54);  "Henry  and  Bessie"  (1855);  "Little  Susy's  Six 
Teachers,"  "Little  Susy's  Little  Servants,"  and  "The 
Flower  of  the  Family"  (1856);  "  Peterchen  and  Gret- 
chen,"  a  translation  from  the  German  (1860) ;  "  The  Little 
Preacher"  (1867) ;  "  Little  Tlireads,"  "Little  Lou's  Sayings 
and  Doings,"  "Fred  and  Maria  and  Me,"  and  "The  Old 
Brown  Pitcher "  (1868) ;  "  Stepping  Heavenward "  and 
"Nidworth"  (1869) ;  "The  Percys"  and  "  The  Story  Lizzie 
Told"  (1870);  "Six  Little  Princesses"  and  "Aunt  Jane's 
Hero  "  (1871) ;  "  Golden  Hours  :  Hymns  and  Songs  of  the 
Christian  Life"  (1873) ;  "Urbane  and  His  Friends"  (1874) ; 
"  Griselda,  a  Dramatic  Poem,"  a  translation  from  the  Ger- 
man, and  "Tlie  Home  at  Greylock"  (1876);  "Pemaquid" 


600  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

(1877);  "Gentleman  Jim"  (1878);  and  "Avis  Benson" 
(1879) — ^the  last  published  posthumously. 

She  is  probably  best  known  as  the  author  of  "  Stepping 
Heax^enward,"  originally  written  as  a  serial.  Published  in 
1869.  it  has  reached  a  sale  of  nearly  70,000  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  republished  in  England,  where  it  has  also 
had  a  very  extensive  circulation,  as  well  as  in  many  of  the 
British  Provinces.  It  has  been  translated  into  German  and 
French,  and  has  passed  through  several  editions  in  each 
language.  In  the  United  States  alone,  over  200,000  vol- 
umes of  her  books  have  been  sold. 

Her  hymn  beginning 

"More  love  to  thee,  0  Christ ! " 

is  found  in  most  of  the  recent  Collections.  It  was  written, 
probably,  as  early  as  1856.  "Like  most  of  her  hymns," 
says  her  biographer,  "  it  is  simply  a  prayer  put  into  the 

form  of  verse She  did  not  show  it,  not  even  to  her 

husband,  until  many  years  after  it  was  written ;  and  she 
wondered,  not  a  little,  that,  when  published,  it  met  with 
so  much  favor."  The  following  hymn  is  taken  from 
"  Golden  Hours": 

"  O  Jesus !  draw  nearer, 

And  make  thyself  dearer, 
I  yearn,  I  am  yearning  for  thee ; 

Come,  take,  for  thy  dweUing, 

The  heart  that  is  swelhng 
With  longings  thy  beauty  to  see ! 

"How  languid  and  weary, 

How  lonely  and  dreary, 
The  days  when  thou  hidest  thy  face ! 

How  sorrow  and  sadness 

Are  turned  into  gladness, 
By  a  glimpse  of  its  love  and  its  grace ! 

' '  Come  nearer,  come  nearer, 

And  make  thyself  dearer. 
Thou  Joy,  thou  Delight  of  my  heart  1 

Close,  close  to  thee  pressing, 

I  long  for  thy  blessing, 
I  cannot  without  it  depart." 


EABANUS  [MAURUS  MAGNENTIUS].  501 

RABANUS  [MAURUS  MAGNENTroS]. 
776-856. 

The  authorship  of  the  celebrated  Latin  hymn,  "Veni, 
Creator  Spiritus,"  has,  by  no  means,  been  detennined.  It 
has,  ordinarily,  been  assigned  to  Charlemagne,  or  some  one 
of  his  coevals.  Some  attribute  it  to  Gregory  the  Great. 
With  much  more  reason,  it  has,  of  late,  been  credited  to 
Archbishop  Rabanus,  of  the  ninth  century.  From  that 
period  it  has  been  held  in  high  honor.  It  has  been  com- 
monly used,  at  the  creation  of  popes,  the  election  of  bish- 
ops, the  coronation  of  kings,  the  opening  of  synods,  and 
the  elevation  and  translation  of  saints. 

Rabanus  was  born,  in  776,  at  Mayence,  Germany  [Moreri, 
with  less  probability,  says  788].  His  parents,  Rutard  and 
Aldegonde,  were  of  noble  family.  At  ten,  he  was  commit- 
ted to  the  care  of  Bangulfe,  the  Abbot  of  the  Monastery  of 
Fulde,  to  be  trained  for  the  church.  He  took  the  habit  of 
the  Religious  order,  and,  in  801,  was  ordained  a  deacon. 
The  next  year,  he  put  himself  under  the  instructions  of  the 
learned  Alcuin,  at  Tours,  who  gave  him  the  name  "  Mau- 
rus."  He  returned  (804)  to  Fulde,  and  devoted  himself  to 
study.  He  was  ordained  (814)  priest,  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Mayence ;  and  (822)  was  chosen  Abbot  of  the  Monastery. 
During  the  next  twenty  years  he  applied  himself  to  liter- 
ary pursuits,  and  wrote  numerous  commentaries  on  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  besides  Sermons  and  other  Treatises.  In 
842,  he  retu-ed  from  his  charge  of  the  monastery,  to  Mount 
St.  Peter,  and  gave  himself  up  to  devotion  and  the  study  of 
the  Scriptures.  At  the  death  of  Otgar,  Archbishop  of  May- 
ence, in  847,  he  was  chosen  to  succeed  him.  He  presided 
over  the  archdiocese  with  great  wisdom  and  acceptance, 
diligent  in  study,  laborious  and  unwearied  in  the  perform- 
ance of  his  duties,  and  diffusing  everywhere  the  proofs  of 
his  large-hearted  benevolence.  He  was  accustomed,  in  the 
intervals  of  his  active  labors,  to  retire  to  a  monastery  in  the 


502  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

neighboring  village  of  Winzel,  where  he  died,  February  4, 
856. 

He  was  a  voluminous  \vriter,  both  of  poetry  and  prose. 
His  works  were  published  at  Cologne,  1627,  in  six  volumes, 
with  his  Life  prefixed.  Baronius  calls  him,  "  the  first  the- 
ologian of  his  times."  He  was,  certainly,  one  of  the  most 
illustrious  winters,  as  a  philosopher,  poet,  and  divine,  of 
the  ninth  century. 


THOMAS  RAFFLES. 

1788-1863. 

Thomas  Raffles  was  bom,  May  17,  1788,  in  London, 
England.  His  father,  William,  and  his  grandfather,  were 
^practitioners  of  law.  At  ten  years  of  age,  he  professed  re- 
ligion, and  connected  himself  with  the  Wesleyans  ;  but,  on 
the  removal  of  his  father's  family  to  Peckham,  he  united 
with  the  Independent  Church  of  that  place,  under  the  care 
of  the  Rev.  William  B.  Collyer.  After  a  careful  training 
and  liberal  education  at  home,  he  entered  (1806)  Homerton 
College,  to  prepare  for  the  ministry  under  the  teaching  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Pye  Smith.  He  was  ordained,  June  22, 
1809,  the  pastor  of  the  Independent  Church  at  Hammer- 
smith, then  a  hamlet  in  the  suburbs  of  London. 

After  a  popular  and  promising  ministry  of  nearly  three 
years,  he  was  called  to  Great  George  Street  Chapel,  Liver- 
pool, as  the  successor  of  the  youthful  and  eloquent  Thomas 
Spencer,  who  was  drowned  in  the  Mersey,  August  5, 1811. 
He  removed  to  Liverpool,  in  February,  1812,  and  was  in- 
stalled May  28,  following.  He  soon  attracted  to  his  minis- 
try a  crowd  of  admii-ers,  and  shortly  became  one  of  the 
most  popular  preachers  of  the  day.  In  this  position,  in- 
creasingly useful  and  honored,  exerting  a  growing  influence 
for  good  over  the  entire  city  and  through  the  kingdom,  he 
continued  to  preach  the  GosjDel  and  labor  for  his  Mastei-'s 


THOMAS  RAFFLES.  503 

cause,  the  full  period  of  fifty  years.  Then,  February,  1862, 
lie  retired,  on  a  pension,  from  the  active  duties  of  the  pas- 
torate. He  did  not  long  survive  the  cessation  of  his  habit- 
ual labors  ;  he  died  at  Liverpool,  August  18,  1863,  in  his 
seventy-sixth  year. 

Early  in  his  ministry,  he  married  the  only  daughter  of 
James  Hargreaves,  a  wealthy  citizen  of  Liverpool,  and  thus 
came  into  the  possession  of  an  ample  income,  enabling  him 
to  engage,  as  he  did  heartily,  in  various  works  of  benevo- 
lence, and  to  gratify  his  great  passion  for  collecting  au- 
tographs. Mrs.  Raffles  died.  May  17,  1843,  leaving  four 
children,  who  survived  their  father. 

He  published,  in  1813,  "  Tlie  Life  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Spencer,  of  Liverpool,"  and  "  Poems  by  Three  Friends," — 
himself,  his  brother-in-law  Dr.  James  Baldwin  Brown,  and 
Jeremiah  Holmes  VViffen.  He  edited,  in  1815,  a  new  and 
enlarged  edition  of  Brown's  "  Self -Interpreting  Bible";  and 
published  his  "Translation  of  Klopstock's  Messiah,"  in 
three  volumes.  After  a  visit  to  the  Continent,  with  his 
cousin.  Sir  Thomas  Stamford  Raffles,  he  published,  in  1817, 
his  "  Letters  during  a  Tour  through  some  part  of  France, 
Savoy,  Switzerland,  Germany,  and  the  Netherlands," — a 
book  that  long  served  as  a  Manual  for  travellers  in  Europe. 

His  "  Lectures  on  some  important  Branches  of  Practical 
Religion "  (1820),  "  Lectures  on  some  important  Doctrines 
of  the  Gospel"  (1822),  and  "Lectures  on  some  important 
Branches  of  Christian  Faith  and  Practice  "  (1825),  were  all 
useful  and  well  received.  These  were  his  principal  publi- 
cations. In  1842,  he  published  a  "  Form  of  the  Solemniza- 
tion of  Matrimony."  With  his  friend.  Dr.  Collyer,  and  his 
brother-in-law.  Dr.  J.  B.  Brown,  he  conducted  for  a  few 
years  The  Investigator^  a  London  Quarterly.  He  contrib- 
uted largely  to  the  Illustrated  Annuals  and  other  periodi- 
cal papers,  besides  publishing  frequent  occasional  sermons. 
In  1853,  he  published  a  Collection  of  Hymns  as  a  Supple- 
ment to  Dr.  Watts.  For  many  years  he  prepared  a  hymn 
for  each  recurring  New- Year's  Day,  which  he  gathered  and 
published  in  1868.     At  the  solicitation  of  the  Dukes  of 


504  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Sussex  and  of  Somerset,  tlie  University  of  Aberdeen,  Scot- 
land, honored  him  with  the  degree  of  LL.D.  ;  and,  at  the 
instance  of  his  personal  friend,  the  Rev.  William  B. 
Sprague,  D.D.,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  he  was  honored,  in  1830, 
with  the  degree  of  D.D.,  by  Union  College,  Schenectady, 

]sr.  Y. 

The  following  is  one  of  eight  hymns  contributed  by  Dr. 
Raffles  to  CoUyer's  "  Supplement  to  Dr.  Watts'  Psalms  and 
Hymns,"  London,  1812  ;  its  theme  is  "Peace  of  Mind": 

"  Come,  heavenly  peace  of  mind! 

I  sigh  for  thy  return ; 
I  seek,  but  can  not  find 

The  joys  for  which  I  mourn : 
Ah !  where 's  the  Saviour  now. 

Whose  smiles  I  once  possessed  ? 
Till  he  return,  I  bow. 

By  heaviest  grief  oppressed ; 
My  days  of  happiness  are  gone, 
And  I  am  left  to  weep  alone. 

"  I  tried  each  earthly  charm, 

In  pleasure's  haunts  I  strayed, 
I  sought  its  soothing  balm, 

I  asked  the  world  its  aid ; 
But,  ah !  no  balm  it  had 

To  heal  a  wounded  breast, 
And  I,  forlorn  and  sad. 

Must  seek  another  rest ; 
My  days  of  happiness  are  gone, 
And  I  am  left  to  weep  alone. 

"  Where  can  the  mourner  go, 

And  tell  his  tale  of  grief  ? 
Ah !  who  can  soothe  his  woe. 

And  give  him  sweet  relief  ? 
Thou,  Jesus !  canst  impart. 

By  thy  long- wished  return, 
Ease  to  this  wounded  heart. 

And  bid  me  cease  to  mourn ; 
Then  shall  this  night  of  sorrow  flee, 
And  I  rejoice,  my  Lord!  in  thee." 


ANDREW  REED.  605 

ANDREW  REED. 
1787-1862. 

It  was  in  1834,  that  the  American  chnrclies  became  per- 
sonally acquainted  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Reed.  He,  with  the 
Rev.  James  Matheson,  D.D.,  had  been  appointed  by  the 
Congregational  Union  of  England  and  Wales,  a  Deputation 
to  visit  the  churches  of  America.  They  arrived  in  the 
spring  of  1834,  spent  six  months  in  the  country,  visited  its 
principal  sections,  preached  frequently,  made  numerous 
addi^esses,  and  left  a  very  favorable  impression  of  their 
abilities  and  Christian  character. 

Dr.  Reed,  the  son  of  Andrew  Reed,  was  bom,  November 
27, 1787,  in  the  city  of  London.  His  parents  were  active 
members  of  New  Road  Chapel  (Cong.),  St.  George's-in-the- 
East.  Though  designed  for  a  commercial  life,  on  joining 
the  church  of  his  parents,  he  determined  to  enter  the  min- 
istry. After  the  usual  preparatory  course  at  Hackney  Col- 
lege, under  the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  George  Collison,  he 
received  a  call  from  the  church  of  which  he  was  a  member, 
and  where  he  had  grown  to  manhood.  He  was  ordained  to 
the  pastorate,  November  27, 1^11,  and  remained  in  charge 
of  the  same  church  until  he  was  removed  by  death,  at  Hack- 
ney, London,  February  25,  1862. 

He  was,  during  the  half  century  of  his  ministry,  one  of 
the  most  popular  and  successful  preachers  of  England. 
The  place  of  worship  speedily  became  crowded,  and  so  con- 
tinued, until,  in  June,  1831,  they  removed  to  their  new  house 
of  worship,  Wycliffe  Chapel,  St.  Vincent  Street,  Commer- 
cial Road,  of  much  larger  capacity.  This,  also,  was  com- 
pletely filled  by  an  admiring  and  greatly  attached  congre- 
gation. On  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  America,  the  hon- 
orary degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  and  his  asso- 
ciate, by  Yale  College. 

Dr.  Reed  entered  largely  into  the  work  of  philanthropy. 
He  was  the  founder  of  the  London  Ori^han  Asylum,  at 


506  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Lower  Clapton  (1820) ;  the  Infant  Orplian  Asylnm,  at 
Wanstead ;  tlie  Asylum  for  Fatherless  Children,  near 
Croydon  (1847) ;  the  Asylum  for  Idiots,  at  Earlswood,  near 
Reigate  ;  the  Royal  Hospital  for  Incurables  ;  and  the  East- 
em  Counties  Asylum  for  Idiots,  at  Colchester.  He  also 
took  an  active  and  prominent  part  in  missionary  efforts 
at  home  and  abroad. 

The  publication  of  his  "  No  Fiction;  A  Narrative,  founded 
on  Fact,"  in  1818,  excited  an  unusual  interest,  especially  as 
the  hero  of  the  book,  whom  he  called  Lef  evre  and  supposed 
incorrectly  to  be  dead,  published  an  indignant  and  volu- 
minous reply.  Dr.  Reed's  book  has  had  a  wide  circulation 
and  a  fi^equent  republication.  His  "  Martha,"  in  1821,  was 
designed  as  a  "Memorial  of  an  only  and  beloved  Sister." 
It  contains  an  interesting  account  of  his  own  early  train- 
ing at  home,  as  weU  as  hers.  On  his  return  from  America, 
he  published  (1835),  in  two  volumes,  "  A  Narrative  of  the 
Visit  to  the  American  Churches,  by  the  Deputation,"  etc. 
His  observation  of  the  Revival  Work  in  America  led  him 
to  prosecute  similar  work  among  his  own  people.  A  re- 
vival of  religion  followed,  giving  occasion  to  "  A  Narrative 
of  the  Revival  of  Religion  in  Wycliffe  Chapel"  (1839). 
This  was  followed,  in  1843,  by  the  "Advancement  of 
Religion  the  Claim  of  the  Times."  Numerous  sermons, 
charges,  and  addresses,  appeared  at  various  periods  of 
his  ministry,  which  were  gathered  (1861)  into  a  separate 
volume. 

In  1817,  he  published  a  Supplement  to  Dr.  Watts'  Psalms 
and  Hymns,  and  an  enlarged  edition  in  1825.  At  length, 
in  1841,  he  published  a  new  Compilation,  called  "  The 
Hymn-Book,"  containing  840  hymns,  21  of  which  are  from 
his  own  pen,  and  19  from  the  pen  of  his  accomiDlished  wife. 
He  married,  in  1816,  Miss  Elizabeth  Holmes,  the  daughter 
of  a  prosperous  merchant  of  London.  She  was  the  mother 
of  seven  children,  five  of  whom  survived  her.  She  died, 
July  4, 1867.  One  of  her  sons,  Charles  Reed,  was  a  Mem- 
ber of  Parliament  (1858-1874)  for  Hackney,  and  a  Delegate 
to  the  (Ecumenical  Council  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance, 


BARTHOLOMEW  EINGWALDT.  507 

that  met  at  New  York,  in  October,  1873.  The  Memoirs  of 
Dr.  Reed  were  edited  and  published  (1863)  by  his  two  sons. 
Andrew  and  Charles.  Drs.  Reed  and  Raflies  (see  the  pre- 
vious Sketch)  were  almost  exactly  coevals,  with  a  great 
similarity  in  their  personal  history.  Many  of  his  hymns 
have  become  familiar,  and  are  found  in  most  of  the  current 
Compilations.    The  following  is  one  of  his  best  hymns  : 

"  My  longing  spirit  faints  to  see 
The  glories  of  that  place, 
Where  dwells  the  great  united  Three, 
In  majesty  and  grace. 

"  Amidst  the  busy  scenes  of  time, 
Amidst  its  joys  and  cares. 
My  sold  surveys  that  purer  clime. 
And  to  its  God  repairs. 

"  There  shall  thy  grace  possess  my  heart, 
And  dwell  and  reign  alone ; 
Each  trace  of  evil  shall  depart. 
Nor  gather  near  thy  throne. 

"  There  love  shall  swell  and  overflow. 
My  fervent  zeal  shall  soar  ; 
And  still  the  more  of  God  I  know. 
The  more  shall  I  adore. 

"  There  every  selfish  care  will  end; 
How  pure  each  thought  will  be, 
When  all  my  hopes  to  God  ascend, 
And  God  is  all  to  me ! " 


BARTHOLOMEW  RINGWALDT. 

1530-1598. 

It  was  Bartholomew  Ringwaldt,  and  not  Martin  Luther, 
who  wrote  the  Judgment  Hymn,  of  which  Dr.  Collyer  gave 
a  translation  of  the  jBrst  stanza, 

"  Great  God !  what  do  I  see  and  hear,"  etc. 


608  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Ringwaldt  was  an  eminent  pastor  of  the  Lutlieran  Cliurcli 
of  Langfeldt,  in  Prussia.  He  was  born  (1530)  at  Frankfort- 
on-the-Oder,  and  was  trained  to  manhood  in  times  of  great 
tribulation,  in  which  he  himself  was  called  to  bear  no  in- 
considerable part.  He  suffered  much  from  famine  and 
pestilence,  fire  and  floods,  as  well  as  other  calamities.  His 
hymns,  in  consequence,  are  mostly  in  the  minor  key.  They 
show  that,  in  common  with  many,  he  was  looking  for  the 
speedy  coming  of  Christ  to  judgment.  His  "Hymns  for 
the  Sundays  and  Festivals  of  the  Whole  Year  "  were  pub- 
lished in  1581.     The  Second  Advent  Hymn, 

"  Es  ist  gewisslich  an  der  Zeit,"  etc., 
["  The  trumpet  sounds! — the  day  has  come,"] 

of  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mills  has  given  an  excellent  transla- 
tion, was  written  in  1585,  something  after  the  manner  of 
Celano's  celebrated  "Dies  Irse."  In  Miss  Winkworth's 
"  Christian  Singers  of  Germany,"  is  given  a  translation  of 
one  of  his  penitential  hyinns,  full  of  devout  faith.  He  died 
in  1598. 


JOHN  RIPPON. 
1751-1836. 

The  Collection  known  as  "Rippon's  Hymns"  has  long 
been  a  favorite  both  in  England  and  America.  For  a  long 
time,  it  was  the  principal  manual  of  i^raise  among  the  Bap- 
tist churches  of  the  Old  and  the  New  World. 

Dr.  John  Rippon  was  a  native  of  Tiverton,  in  Devonshire, 
England,  and  was  born,  April  29,  1751.  At  an  early  age,  he 
became  a  devout  Christian,  and  connected  himself  with  the 
BajDtist  Church  of  his  native  place.  He  determined  to  enter 
the  ministry  of  the  Gospel ;  and  obtained  a  suitable  prepa- 
ration for  the  work  at  the  Baptist  Academy  in  Bristol, 
under  the  instructions  of  the  Rev.  Hugh  Evans,  and  his 


JOHN  RIPPON.  609 

son,  the  Rev.  Caleb  Evans.  At  tlie  close  of  his  preparatory 
course  (1772),  he  was  invited  to  supply  the  pulpit  of  the 
Particular  Baptist  Church,  Carter  Lane,  Tooley  Street,  Lon- 
don, made  vacant  by  the  decease,  October  14,  1771,  of  theil 
eminent  and  venerable  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  GUI. 
Having  preached  about  a  year  on  trial,  he  was  ordained 
the  pastor  of  the  church,  November  11,  1773.  Devoting 
himself  to  the  work  of  his  pastorate,  he  seldom  came  be- 
fore the  public  through  the  press.  His  first  publication 
of  importance  was  "  A  Selection  of  Hymns  from  the  best 
Authors,  including  a  great  Number  of  Originals,  intended 
as  an  Appendix  to  Dr.  Watts'  Psalms  and  Hymns,  Lon- 
don:  1787."  In  1800,  he  published  a  "tenth,  and  en- 
larged edition,"  containing  sixty  hymns,  in  addition  to  the 
588  of  the  original  edition.  The  27th  edition  (1827)  was 
also  very  considerably  enlarged, — 200,000  copies  having,  at 
that  time,  been  put  into  circulation  in  Great  Britain.  The 
second  American  edition  was  issued  in  1813,  followed  sub- 
sequently by  a  large  number  of  editions. 

Dr.  Rippon  was  a  great  admirer  of  Dr.  Watts'  Psalms 
and  Hymns,  and  took  unwearied  pains  to  secure — by  a  care- 
ful collation  of  all  the  editions  of  them  to  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  especially  of  "the  Doctor's  own 
Editions  " — an  accurate  edition,  free  from  blunders  and  er- 
rors. As  the  result,  he  published,  in  1801,  "  An  Arrange- 
ment of  the  Psalms,  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs  of  the 
Rev.  Isaac  Watts,  D.D.,"  disposed  according  to  subjects, 
and  numbering  718  Psalms  and  Hymns.  It  is  prob- 
ably the  most  accurate  edition  of  Dr.  Watts'  book  ever 
published.  The  Preface  to  the  "  Arrangement "  is  a  valu- 
able document.  This  was  followed  in  1810  by  "  An  Index 
of  all  the  Lines  in  Watts'  Hymns  and  Psalms," — a  corrected 
edition,  probably,  of  Dr.  Guy's  "Complete  Index  to  Dr. 
Watts'  Hymns"  (1773),  and  "Do.  to  Dr.  W.'s  Psalms" 
(1774).  He  edited,  in  1816,  a  new  edition,  in  9  vols,  quarto, 
of  Dr.  John  Gill's  "Exposition  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments," with  a  Memoir  prefixed,  which  was  published  also 
separately,  in  1838.     He  published  at  vaiious  times  during 


610  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

his  long  ministry,  a  considerable  number  of  Sermons,  Dis- 
courses, Addresses,  etc.  He  a] so  edited  the  "Baptist  An- 
nual Eegister"  from  1790  to  1802.  A  volume  of  "Divine 
Aspirations,"  also  came  from  his  pen. 

Dr.  Rippon  finished  his  long  and  useful  life,  December 
17, 1836,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  sixty- 
fourth  of  his  ministry.  His  remains  were  deposited  in 
Bunhill  Fields  Cemetery.  The  two  jjastorates  of  Drs.  Gill 
and  Rippon  covered  a  period  of  one  hundred  and  seven- 
teen years. 

It  is  known  that  Dr.  Rippon  contributed  several  original 
hymns  (anonymously)  to  his  "Selection";  but  it  is  now  al- 
most impossible  to  distinguish  them.  Gadsby,  in  his  "  Me- 
moirs of  Hymn- Writers  and  Compilers,"  says  of  the  follow  - 
ing  hymn,  on  "  The  Use  of  the  Moral  Law  to  the  Convinced 
Sinner," — "  I  think  the  hymn  was  his  own,  as  I  can  not  find 
it  in  any  book  earlier  than  his  Selection": 

"  Here,  Lord!  my  soul  convicted  stands 
Of  breaking  all  thy  ten  commands ; 
And  on  me  justly  might'st  thou  pour 
Thy  wrath  in  one  eternal  shower. 

"  But,  thanks  to  God!  its  loud  alarms 
Have  warned  me  of  approaching  harms ; 
And  now,  O  Lord !  my  wants  I  see ; 
Lost  and  undone,  I  come  to  thee. 

"  I  see,  my  fig-leaf  righteousness 
Can  ne'er  thy  broken  law  redress ; 
Yet  in  thy  gospel-plan  I  see, 
There's  hope  of  pardon  e'en  for  me. 

"  Here  I  behold  thy  wonders.  Lord! 
How  Christ  hath  to  thy  law  restored 
Those  honors,  on  th'  atoning  day. 
Which  guilty  sinners  took  away. 

**  Amazing  wisdom,  power,  and  love, 
Displayed  to  rebels  from  above ! 
Do  thou,  O  Lord !  my  faith  increase 
To  love  and  trust  thy  plan  of  grace." 


ROBERT  II.  (KING  OF  FRANCE).  511 

ROBERT  II.   (KING  OF  FRANCE). 

971-1031. 

Numerous  versions  of  the  ancient  Latin  hymn, 

"  Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus," 

are  to  be  found  in  the  Collections.  The  original  is  justly 
esteemed  as  one  of  "  the  loveliest  of  all  the  hymns  in  the 
whole  circle  of  Latin  sacred  poetry."  Its  i^aternity  has 
been  a  matter  of  much  dispute,  but  is  now,  by  the  best 
critics,  accorded  to  Robert,  the  son  of  Hugh  Capet.  Trench, 
whose  words  are  given  above,  says,  that  "  he  was  singularly 
addicted  to  church-music,  which  he  enriched,  as  well  as  the 
hymnology,  with  compositions  of  his  own,  such  as,  I  be- 
lieve, even  now  hold  their  place  in  the  services  of  the  Ro- 
man Church." 

Robert  II.,  King  of  France,  was  born  in  971,  and  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  at  the  death  of  his  father,  996.  He 
became  enamored  of  his  cousin.  Bertha,  the  daughter  of 
Conrad  (King  of  Burgundy)  and  Maud  of  France.  The 
propriety  of  his  marrying  her  was  submitted  to  a  coun- 
cil of  the  bishops  of  the  Idngdom,  who  gave  their  consent, 
and  he  was  married  by  Archambauld,  the  Archbishop  of 
Tours.  But  the  Pope,  Gregory  Y.,  opposed  it,  and,  in  a 
council  held  at  Rome,  in  998,  decreed  the  dissolution  of 
the  marriage ;  and,  on  the  refusal  of  Robert  to  put  his  wife 
away,  he  laid  the  kingdom  under  an  interdict.  Such  was 
the  effect  of  this  arbitrary  and  despotic  measure  on  the 
subjects  and  even  the  domestics  of  the  King,  as  to  compel 
him  at  length  to  dismiss  the  object  of  his  love.  Subse- 
quently he  married  Constance,  sumamed  Blanche,  the 
daughter  of  William,  Count  of  Aries  and  Provence, — a 
haughty  and  imperious  woman,  whose  temper  caused  him 
no  little  trouble. 

His  reign  extended  through  nearly  thirty-four  years,  a 
period  of  much  turbulence  and  violence.     Much  as  he  was 


512  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

averse  to  scenes  of  war,  he  promptly  and  effectually  sub- 
dued his  enemies,  and  then  devoted  himself  to  literature 
and  benevolence.  He  erected  a  large  number  of  magnifi- 
cent churches  for  the  promotion  of  religion,  and  repaired 
the  old.  Such  was  his  charity,  that  he  furnished  food  for 
a  great  number  of  the  poor,  and  encouraged  them  to  ap- 
proach him  with  their  distresses  and  complaints.  He  died, 
July  20, 1031.  He  was  so  accustomed  to  take  part  with  the 
choir  in  the  Church  of  St.  Denis,  and  to  write  hymns  with 
music  for  their  use,  that,  as  Nicholas  Gilles  relates,  "his 
wife  Queen  Constance  asked  him  to  make  some  hymns  in 
her  praise.  To  content  her,  in  appearance,  he  wrote  a 
hymn  in  honor  of  St.  Denis  and  other  martyrs,  beginning 
with  '  O  constantia  martyrum ! '  and  the  Queen,  being  igno- 
rant of  Latin,  and  supposing  it  to  be  in  honor  of  herself, 
was  wont  to  sing  it,  not  knowing  what  she  said." 


WILLIAM  ROBERTSON. 
1743. 

Three  of  the  "Paraphrases"  attached  to  the  Scotch  Ver- 
sion of  "The  Psalms  of  David"— the  25th,  the  42d,  and  the 
43d — are  attributed  to  the  Rev.  William  Robertson.  He  is 
best  known  as  the  father  of  his  more  illustrious  son,  Principal 
William  Robertson,  D.D.,  the  celebrated  historical  writer. 
He  was  descended  from  a  respectable  family  in  Gladney, 
Fifeshire,  and  was  born,  it  is  thought,  in  Gladsmuir,  East 
Lothian,  of  which  parish  his  father  was  the  minister.  He 
was  trained  for  the  ministry  ;  and  soon  after  his  licensure, 
he  officiated,  it  is  said,  for  the  Scots'  church,  worshipping 
at  that  time  in  Founder's  Hall,  Lothbury,  London. 

His  first  settlement  was  at  Borthwick,  Mid- Lothian,  Scot- 
land, as  early  certainly  as  1720.  He  married  a  daughter  of 
David  Pitcairn,  Esq.,  of  Dreghorn.     She  became  the  moth- 


WILLIAM  ROBEETSON.  513 

er  of  two  sons  (of  whom  tlie  historian,  born  in  1721,  was 
the  elder),  and  six  daughters.  One  of  the  latter  married 
the  Rev.  James  Syme,  and  her  only  daughter,  Eleanora, 
was  the  mother  of  the  eminent  Lord  Brougham.  In  1733, 
Mr.  Robertson  was  transferred  to  the  Old  Greyfriars' 
Church,  Edinburgh,  where  his  brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Nesbit,  was  also  settled.  He  continued  in  this  charge  until 
his  death,  in  1743  ; — his  wife's  death  occurred  within  a  few 
hours  of  his  own.  He  seems  to  have  taken  but  little  part 
in  the  ecclesiastical  agitations  of  the  period  (the  Marrow 
controversy),  and  to  have  been  a  laborious  and  useful  pas- 
tor. His  "Scripture  Songs"  were  published  in  1751.  The 
following  stanzas  from  his  version  of  the  53d  chapter  of 
Isaiah,  constituting  the  25th  of  the  Scotch  Paraphrases,  are 
quite  creditable : 

"  How  few  receive  with  cordial  faith 

The  tidings  which  we  bring ! 
How  few  have  seen  the  arm  revealed 

Of  heaven's  eternal  King ! 
The  Saviour  comes !  no  outward  pomp 

Bespeaks  his  presence  nigh ; 
No  earthly  beauty  shines  in  him 

To  di'aw  the  carnal  eye. 

"  Fair  as  a  beauteous  tender  flower 

Amidst  the  desert  grows, 
So,  slighted  by  a  rebel  race, 

The  heavenly  Saviour  rose  : 
Rejected  and  despised  of  men, 

Behold  a  man  of  woe ! 
Grief  was  his  close  companion  still, 

Through  all  his  life  below. 

"  Yet  all  the  griefs  he  felt  were  oui-s, 
Ours  were  the  woes  he  bore ; 
Pangs,  not  his  own,  his  spotless  soul 

With  bitter  anguish  tore : 
We  held  him  as  condemned  by  Heaven, 

An  outcast  from  his  God, 
While  for  our  sms  he  groaned,  he  bled, 
Beneath  his  Father's  rod." 
33 


514  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

CHARLES  SEYMOUE  ROBINSOIS'. 

1829 . 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  S.  Robinsois^  was  born  at  Ben- 
nington, Vermont,  Marcli  31,  1829.  He  was  educated  at 
Williams  College,  Mass.,  where  lie  graduated  in  1849.  He 
studied  for  tlie  ministry,  one  year  (1852-1853)  at  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  New  York  City,  and  two  years  (1853- 
1865)  at  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  New  Jersey.  He 
was  ordained,  and  installed  the  pastor  of  the  Park  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  April  19, 1855.  At  the  end  of 
five  years,  he  removed  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  became  the 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  city.  In  the 
spring  of  1868,  he  accepted  an  appointment  to  the  charge 
of  the  American  Chapel  in  Paris,  France,  entering  on  his 
work  there  in  May,  1868,  and  continuing  until  September, 
1870,  when  he  returned  to  America,  and  accepted  a  call 
from  the  Eleventh  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York. 

After  a  brief  visit  to  Paris,  in  the  summer  of  1871,  he 
took  charge  of  the  church  then  in  Fifty-fifth  Street,  near 
Thu'd  Avenue,  New  York,  and  still  continues  in  that  pas- 
torate. Mainly  through  his  efforts,  the  congregation  un- 
dertook and  completed  the  erection  of  a  spacious  and  costly 
church-edifice  (Madison  Avenue  and  Fifty-third  Street, 
where  they  now  worship),  known  as  the  "  Memorial  Pres- 
byterian Church." 

Dr.  Robinson  compiled,  in  1862,  a  volume  of  Hymns  and 
Tunes,  for  Public  Worship,  known  as  "  The  Songs  of  the 
Church."  A  much  more  complete  Compilation,  entitled, 
"  Songs  for  the  Sanctuary,"  followed  in  1865, — a  work  that 
has  obtained  a  wide  circulation,  and  achieved  great  popu- 
larity. A  Chapel  Edition  was  issued  in  1872.  In  1874,  he 
published  "Psalms  and  Hjanns  and  Spiritual  Songs";  and, 
in  1878,  "  A  Selection  of  Spiritual  Songs,  with  Music,  for 
the  Church  and  Choir."  These  were  followed  by  "  Spirit- 
ual Songs  for  Social  Worship,"  and  "  Spiritual  Songs  for 


EOBEET  ROBINSON.  51,5 

the  Sunday- Scliool."  In  all  these  books  Dr.  Robinson  lias 
maintained  his  hold  upon  the  popular  taste ;  and  in  his 
latest  volume,  "  Laudes  Domini,  a  Selection  of  Spiritual 
Songs  Ancient  and  Modern  "  (1884),  he  has  sought  "  to  lead 
the  taste  of  congregations  and  choirs  towards  a  higher  class 
of  lyrics  and  music  than  has  hitherto  found  acceptance  in 
the  churches."  In  addition  to  these  musical  Compilations, 
he  published,  in  1868,  "  Short  Studies  for  Sunday-School 
Teachers";  in  1874,  "The  Memorial  Pulpit,"  two  volumes 
of  his  sermons ;  and,  in  1883,  "  Studies  of  Neglected  Texts." 
In  1866,  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  from 
Hamilton  College,  New  York. 


EGBERT  ROBINSON. 

1735-1790. 

RoBEET  RoBmsoF  was  born,  September  27, 1735,  at  Swaff- 
ham,  in  Norfolk,  England.  His  father,  Michael  Robinson, 
was  an  exciseman,  and  a  native  of  Scotland.  His  mother, 
Mary,  was  the  only  daughter  of  Robert  Wilkin,  of  Milden- 
hall,  Suffolk.  His  parents  were  both  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  he  was  their  youngest  child.  At  the  age  of 
six,  he  was  sent  to  a  Latin  school,  and  soon  exhibited  re- 
markable capacity.  In  1743,  the  family  removed  to  Scar- 
ning.  Not  long  subsequently,  his  father  absconded  on 
account  of  debt,  and  shortly  after  died  at  Winchester. 
His  mother  was,  in  consequence,  subjected  to  great  straits, 
and  was  compelled  to  keep  boarders,  and  to  ply  her  needle, 
for  support.  At  the  grammar-school  of  the  town,  taught 
by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Brett,  the  boy  made  marked  profi- 
ciency, especially  in  the  languages. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  was  apprenticed  to  Joseph 
Anderson,  a  hair-dresser  in  London.  He  soon  proved  him- 
self qualified  for  a  higher  calling.  He  gained  time  by  early 
rising,  and  devoted  it  to  study.     His  first  serious  impres- 


616  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

sions  were  the  result  of  hearing  Rev.  George  Whitefield 
preach  (May  24,  1752)  a  sermon  from  the  text,— "Who 
hath  warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come?"  He 
went  to  the  Tabernacle  out  of  curiosity,  "  pitying  the  poor 
deluded  Methodists,  but  came  away  envying  their  happi- 
ness." For  the  next  two  years  and  a  half,  he  constantly 
resorted  to  the  Tabernacle  ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  end  of 
1755,  that  he  found  "  full  and  free  forgiveness  through  the 
precious  blood  of  Jesus  Christ." 

After  five  years'  service,  his  master  returned  him  his  in- 
dentures, and  he  made  a  visit  to  his  relatives  at  Mildenhall, 
intending  to  engage  in  farming.  Associating  with  the  pious 
people  of  the  neighborhood,  he  was  urged  to  preach  to 
them,  and  complied.  His  youth  and  marked  ability  drew 
many  to  hear  him  from  the  adjoining  towns,  and  brought 
him  invitations  to  other  places.  He  was  sent  for,  soon  after, 
to  preach  in  the  Tabernacle  at  Norwich.  This  was  early  in 
1758.  After  a  while  he  left  the  Methodists,  and  formed 
an  independent  church,  of  which  he  became  the  pastor. 
Having  adopted  Baptist  principles,  he  was  immersed  by 
Mr.  Dunkhorn,  of  Ellingham  in  Norfolk.  In  July,  1759, 
he  accepted  an  invitation  to  preach  to  the  Baptist  congre- 
gation at  Cambridge ;  and,  about  the  same  time,  married 
Miss  Ellen  Payne,  of  Norwich.  Having  bound  the  church 
to  open  communion,  he  was  ordained  in  1761. 

The  congregation  was  poor,  and  his  annual  income  small, — 
at  first  scarcely  amounting  to  £15,  and  at  no  time  exceeding 
£90.  His  popularity  enabled  him  to  procure  the  erection, 
at  the  end  of  three  years,  of  a  good  house  of  worship.  His 
labors  were  abundant.  He  preached  twice  or  thrice  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  several  times  through  the  week  in  the  adja- 
cent villages.  In  1773,  to  supplement  his  small  salary,  he 
entered  into  the  business  of  farming  and  trading,— his  fam- 
il}^  then  consisting  of  his  wife  and  nine  children  with  his 
aged  mother.  He  died,  on  a  journey,  at  Birmingham,  June 
9, 1790.  He  was  found  dead  in  his  bed.  He  continued  in 
charge  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Cambridge  until  his  death. 

With  all  his  other  occupations,  he  found  time  for  much 


ROBERT  ROBINSON.  517 

literary  work.  His  "Arcana,"  issued  in  1774,  attracted 
mucli  attention.  Besides  several  sermons  and  pamphlets, 
of  various  dates,  he  edited  a  Translation  of  "  Saurin's  Ser- 
mons," in  5  vols.,  with  a  "  Memoir  of  Saurin  and  the  French 
Reformation"  (1775-1782) ;  and,  in  1776,  he  published  "A 
Plea  for  the  Divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ," — said  to 
have  been  derived  from  the  French  of  Dr.  Abbadie,  in  his 
"  Vindication  of  the  Truth  of  the  Christian  Religion."  The 
work  attracted  great  attention  and  was  well  received  both 
by  Churchmen  and  Dissenters.  "An  Essay  on  the  Com- 
position of  a  Sermon,"  followed  in  1777 ;  "  A  Plan  of  Lec- 
tures on  the  Principles  of  Nonconformity,"  in  1778  ;  "  The 
General  Doctrine  of  Toleration  applied  to  the  Particular 
Case  of  Free  Communion,"  in  1780 ;  his  "  Political  Cate- 
chism," in  1782 ;  and  a  volume  of  "  Village  Sermons,"  in 
1786.  His  "  History  of  Baptism,"  and  his  "  Ecclesiastical 
Researches,"  were  published  after  his  death.  His  "  Miscel- 
laneous Works,"  with  a  Memoir  of  his  Life,  were  published 
in  1807,  by  Benjamin  Flower,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Sarah 
Flower  Adams. 

Mr.  Robinson  was  an  admirable  preacher.  He  com- 
manded the  attention  of  the  most  scholarly  minds,  even 
of  the  University,  and  was  regarded  with  great  favor  by  the 
undergraduates.  The  celebrated  Robert  Hall  remarked 
(1787)  on  one  occasion :  "  Mr.  Robinson  had  a  musical 
voice,  and  was  master  of  all  its  intonations  ;  he  had  wonder- 
ful self-possession,  and  could  say  wliat  he  pleased,  wTien 
he  pleased,  and  lioio  he  pleased."  The  Rev.  William 
Jay,  of  Bath,  says  of  him :  "  For  disentangling  a  subject 
from  confusion,  for  the  j)Ower  of  develo^Dment,  for  genuine 
simplification,  for  invention, — what  writer  ever  surpassed 
Robinson  of  Cambridge?"  He  was  a  great  favorite  in 
London,  and  other  large  towns, — always  drawing  crowds  to 
hear  him. 

His  attached  people,  "  the  Congregation  of  Stone- Yard," 
erected  in  the  Old  Meeting  House  at  Birmingham,  where 
he  was  buried,  a  Tablet  to  his  memory,  with  this  inscrip- 
tion (written  by  his  successor,  the  Rev.  Robert  Hall):  "  Sa- 


518  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

cred  to  tlie  Memory  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Robinson,  of 
Cambridge,  the  intrepid  Champion  of  Liberty  Civil  and 
Religious ;  endowed  with  a  Genius  brilliant  and  penetrat- 
ing, united  with  an  indefatigable  Industry,  his  Mind  was 
richly  furnished  with  an  inexhaustible  Variety  of  Knowl- 
edge. His  Eloquence  was  the  Delight  of  every  public  As- 
sembly, and  his  Conversation  the  Charm  of  every  private 
Circle.  In  him  the  Erudition  of  the  Scholar,  the  Discrim- 
ination of  the  Historian,  and  the  Boldness  of  the  Reformer, 
were  united,  in  an  eminent  Degree,  with  the  Virtues  which 
adorn  the  Man  and  the  Christian." 

The  only  hymns  that  are  known  to  have  been  written  by 
Mr.  Robinson,  are  the  three  following : 

"Brightness  of  the  Father's  glory!  "  etc., 
"  Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing!  "etc., 

"Mighty  God!  while  angels  bless  thee, "etc. 


CHRISTIAN  KNORR  VON  ROSENROTH. 

1636-1689. 

The  German  hymn,  "  Morgenglanz  der  Ewigkeit,"  of 
which  there  are  several  excellent  English  versions,  was 
written  by  an  eminent  German  scholar,  of  distinguished 
rank  in  society.  He  was  a  Silesian,  and  was  born,  July  15, 
1636,  at  Altranden,  in  the  Principality  of  Wohlau,  of  which 
i:)arish  his  father  was  the  pastor.  He  pursued  his  aca- 
demical studies  at  Stettin,  Leipsic,  and  Wittenberg,  and  be- 
came a  proficient  in  the  Oriental  tongues.  Leaving  the  Uni- 
versity, he  travelled  over  Holland,  France,  and  England, 
still  prosecuting  his  studies.  He  became  an  adept,  not  only 
in  philosophy  and  chemistry,  but  in  theology  and  cabalis- 
tic lore,  some  of  the  results  of  which  he  gave  to  the  press. 


JOHN  ROWE.  519 

He  had  a  memory  so  extraordinary,  that  lie  "  knew  nearly 
the  whole  Bible  by  heart." 

On  his  return  from  foreign  countries,  much  improved  by 
travel,  a  title  of  nobUity  [Baron]  was  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  youthful  Emperor,  Leopold  I.  He  was,  also,  ap- 
pointed (1668)  Privy  Councillor  and  Prime  Minister  of 
Count  Christian  Augustus,  of  the  Palatinate  at  Salzbach. 
His  piety  was  of  a  high  order — eminently  subjective,  as  ap- 
pears from  his  seventy-five  hymns,  which  breathe  the  ut- 
most devotion  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  are  admirable 
specimens  of  lyiic  poetry.  These  heart- effusions,  as  they 
pre-eminently  may  be  styled,  were  written  mostly  in  sea- 
sons of  relaxation,  often  during  his  rambles,  and  for  the 
gratification  of  his  wife,  by  whom  they  were  published 
after  his  decease.  The  hymn  noticed  above,  it  is  thought, 
was  composed  during  an  early  morning  walk,  as  the  sun 
was  rising.  He  foretold  the  hour  of  his  death,— exactly 
as  it  occurred.  May  4, 1689.  In  the  tone  of  his  piety,  and 
the  style  of  his  poetry,  he  belonged  to  the  school  of  Frank 
and  Scheffler  [Angelus],  who  were  considerably  his  seniors, 
though  his  contemporaries.  He  wrote  an  "  Evangelical  His- 
tory," and  "  Kabbala  Denudata,"  an  exposition  of  Hebrew 
doctrines. 


JOHN  EOWE. 

1764-1832. 

Me.  Eowe  was,  for  thirty-four  years,  a  Dissenting 
minister  of  Bristol,  England.  He  was  the  sixth  child  of 
WiUiam  Rowe,  of  Spencecomb,  near  Crediton,  where  he  was 
born,  April  17,  1764.  He  was,  from  his  boyhood,  trained 
for  the  ministry.  For  a  time,  he  was  taught  in  the  classical 
school  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bretland.  Then  he  entered  the 
Hoxton  Academy,  from  which,  at  its  dissolution,  he  was 
transferred  to  Hackney  College  (1786-1787). 


520  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

At  tlie  expiration  of  his  college  course  (1787),  he  became 
one  of  the  ministers  of  the  High  Street  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Shrewsbury.  The  next  year  (1788),  he  married 
his  cousin,  Miss  Mary  Clarke.  In  1797,  he  was  chosen  one 
of  the  ministers  of  Lewin's  Mead  Chapel,  Bristol,  having 
the  Rev.  Dr.  John  P.  Estlin,  as  his  colleague,  until  1817, 
and  then  (until  his  own  decease)  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lant  Car- 
penter,— both  of  them  highly  distinguished  as  Unitarian 
ministers.  Mr.  Rowe  was,  also,  a  Unitarian.  He  was  re- 
garded as  a  "  serious,  earnest,  and  impressive "  preacher, 
devoting  "himself  with  great  assiduity  to  his  pastoral 
duties."  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  promotion  of  the 
charities  of  Bristol,  and  was  a  decided  Liberal  in  politics. 

Mr.  Rowe  lost  five  of  his  children  in  their  infancy ;  and,  in 
his  later  years,  he  was  also  sorely  tried  by  afiliction.  His 
endeared  brother,  Lawrence  Rowe,  died  in  1823 ;  and  his  be- 
loved wife,  in  1825.  Shortly  after,  his  only  surviving  son 
died  in  Mexico ;  and  his  eldest  daughter,  Mrs.  Benjamin  H. 
Bright,  soon  followed.  In  January,  1831,  he  himself  was 
affected  with  paralysis  ;  compelling  him,  in  the  summer  of 
1882,  to  resign  his  charge,  and,  with  his  only  surviving 
child,  a  devoted  daughter,  to  proceed  to  Italy.  The  last 
few  weeks  of  his  life  were  spent  at  Sienna,  where  he  died, 
"perfectly  resigned  and  composed,"  July  2,  1832,  in  his 
sixty-ninth  year. 

He  published  a  "Sermon,"  in  1803,  at  Bristol;  besides 
which,  it  does  not  appear  that  he  committed  anything  else 
to  the  press. 


JOHN  RYLAND. 

1753-1825. 

The  Rev.  Benjamin  Beddome,  a  former  pastor  of  the 
Baptist  Church  of  Bourton-on-the- Water,  Gloucestershire, 
England,  is  well  known  as  a  writer  of  hymns,  many  of 


JOHN  RYLAND.  521 

which  are  still  in  use.  Among  the  additions  to  his  church, 
October  2, 1741,  was  a  youth  of  eighteen,  John  Collett  Ry- 
land,  the  son  of  Joseph  Ryland  and  Freelove  Collett,  of 
Stow-on-the-Wold,  Gloucestershire.  This  young  man,  in 
1750,  became  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  War- 
wick. Shortly  before,  December  23, 1748,  he  had  married 
Elizabeth,  the  only  daughter  of  Samuel  Frith,  of  War^vick. 
Their  home  was  the  Rectory  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  which 
they  hired  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Tate,  the  Rector.  Here  their 
son,  John,  was  born,  January  29, 1753. 

The  elder  Ryland  was  a  prodigy  in  Hebrew,  and  taught 
it  to  his  boy  from  his  very  infancy.  Speaking  of  the  23d 
Psalm  in  Hebrew,  the  son  says  :  "  I  remember  reading  that 
Psalm  to  Mr.  Hervey,  when  my  father  visited  him  in  the 
summer  of  1758."  Of  the  son's  proficiency  in  Greek,  also, 
his  father  makes  this  record:  "Finished  reading  and 
translating  the  whole  Greek  Testament,  December  12th, 
1761.  The  whole  done  in  eight  months  and  twelve  days. 
Aged  eight  years  ten  months."  John,  of  course,  became  a 
scholar.  As  to  his  religious  training,  he  says :  "  My  mother 
taught  me  a  great  deal  of  Scripture  history,  by  explaining 
to  me  the  pictures  on  the  Dutch  tiles  in  the  parlor  chim- 
ney at  Warwick." 

In  the  autumn  of  1759,  the  father  became  the  pastor  of 
the  Baptist  Church  of  Northampton,  teaching,  also,  a 
school  to  eke  out  a  scanty  salary,  and  to  educate  his  own 
children.  In  his  fifteenth  year,  John  was  converted ;  and 
was  baptized  by  his  father,  September  13, 1767.  He  at  once 
took  an  active  part  in  religious  exercises,  and  began  a 
course  of  study  for  the  ministry.  After  a  public  trial  of 
his  abilities,  he  received  the  approbation  of  the  church  as 
a  preacher,  March  10, 1771,  in  his  eighteenth  year. 

During  the  next  ten  years,  he  was  associated  with  his 
father  as  a  teacher  in  his  school,  preaching  every  Sabbath, 
either  in  Northampton,  or  in  the  adjacent  villages,  perfect- 
ing himself,  in  the  meantime,  in  classical  and  theological 
knowledge.  In  1781,  he  was  ordained  as  his  father's  col- 
league.    Previous  to   this  time,  he  had  made  frequent 


522  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

contributions  to  religious  periodicals,  especially  The  Gos- 
pel Magazine,  both  in  i^oetry  and  prose.  His  signatures 
were,  "J.  R.  jr.,"  and  "Elacliistoteros."  His  familiar 
hymn,  beginning,  as  most  generally  sung, 

"  In  all  my  Lord's  appointed  ways," 

appeared  in  The  Gospel  Magazine,  for  May,  1775,  in  nine 
stanzas,  as  in  Rippon's  Selection  ;  it  begins,  in  the  original, 
with  the  stanza, 

"  When  Abram's  servant  to  procure 
A  wife  for  Isaac  went, 
Rebecca  met  his  suit  preferred. 
Her  parents  gave  consent." 

It  was  written,  December  30,  1773,  when  he  was  nearly 
twenty-one  years  old.  Of  course  Dr.  Belcher's  story  about 
its  origin  is  apocryphal.     The  hymn,  beginning  with 

*'  Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  skies," 

bears  date,  August  1, 1777,  and  contains  nine  single  stan- 
zas.   His  best  hymn, 

"  O  Lord!  I  would  delight  in  thee,"  etc., 

was  written,  December  3, 1777,  in  seven  stanzas ;  and  ap- 
pended to  the  hymn  in  the  original  ]\IS.,  is  a  note,  added 
long  afterwards,  in  these  words  :  "  I  recollect  deeper  feel- 
ings of  mind  in  composing  this  hymn  than,  perhaps,  I  ever 
felt  in  making  any  other." 

In  1786,  by  reason  of  pecuniary  embarrassment,  the 
father  removed  to  Enfield,  nine  miles  north  of  London,  and 
took  charge  of  a  large  school.  The  pastoral  work  thus 
devolved  solely  on  the  son.  In  company  with  Fuller,  of 
Kettering,  and  Sutcltffe,  of  Olney,  at  the  instance  mainly 
of  William  Carey,  he  took  part  in  organizing,  at  Fuller's 
house,  October  2, 1792,  the  "Baptist  Missionary  Society"; 
in  the  promotion  of  whose  interests  he  labored  as  long  as 
he  lived.     His  father  died,  July  29, 1792.    The  same  year, 


JOHN  RYLAND.  523 

lie  received  tlie  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  from  Brown  Uni- 
versity, R.  I.,  U.  S.  A.  After  repeated  solicitations,  lie 
removed,  December,  1793,  to  Bristol,  to  take  charge  of  the 
Baptist  Academy,  as  the  successor  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Caleb 
Evans,  and  to  become  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church, 
Broadmead.  The  duties  of  these  two  offices  he  continued 
to  perform  until  death.  After  the  decease  (1815)  of  his 
devoted  friend,  Andrew  Fuller,  he  accepted,  also,  the  posi- 
tion of  Secretary  of  the  "  Baptist  Missionary  Society  "—de- 
volving the  labors  mainly  on  a  Junior  Secretary.  In  1821, 
his  health  broke  down,  and  he  continued  to  fail  more  and 
more,  until  May  25, 1825,  when  his  death  occurred,  in  his 
seventy-third  year.     He  was  twice  married. 

A  list  of  thirty-four  publications  from  his  pen  is  at- 
tached to  the  brief  Memoir  (edited  by  his  son,  Jonathan 
Edwards  Ryland)  prefixed  to  his  "  Pastoral  Memorials,"  in 
two  volumes,  published  the  year  after  his  death.  They  are 
mostly  single  discourses,  charges,  ordination  and  funeral 
sermons.  In  addition,  he  published,  in  1814,  "A  Candid 
Statement  of  the  Reasons  which  induce  the  Baptists  to 
differ  in  Opinion  and  Practice  from  so  many  of  their  Chris- 
tian Brethren";  and  in  1816,  "The  Work  of  Faith,  the 
Labor  of  Love,  and  the  Patience  of  Hope  illustrated,  in 
the  Life  and  Death  of  the  Rev.  Andrew  Fuller,  of  Ketter- 
ing." His  "Christianse  Militise  Viaticum;  or  A  Brief 
Directory  for  Evangelical  Ministers,"  first  published  about 
thirty  years  before  his  death,  has  gone  through  several  edi- 
tions. Mr.  Sedgwick,  of  London,  issued  a  reprint  of  his 
(99)  Hymns. 

About  six  weeks  before  his  death  (April  11,  1825),  he 
wrote :  "  For  seventy-two  years  I  never  was  prevented  from 
attending  public  worship,  since  I  was  old  enough  to  be 
taken  to  it,  for  two  Lord's  Days  together,  that  I  know  of ; 
I  am  persuaded  I  never  was  for  three.  And  for  fifty-four 
years  have  never  been  hindered  from  preaching  by  illness, 
unless  two  or  three  times,  at  distant  periods,  for  a  single 
Sabbath." 
The  following  hymn  was  contributed  to  the  May  Num- 


524  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ber  of  the  Gospel  Magazine^  for  1776,  on  the  theme,—"  The 
fire  [of  divine  love]  saith  not,  ' It  is  enough'": 

"  If  I  from  others  diflFer  aught, 
Lord!  'twas  thy  grace  the  difference  wrought; 
If  I  one  holy  wish  have  known, 
That  wish  was  given  by  thee  alone. 

"  To  taste  thy  love  is  sweeter  far 
Than  all  earth's  dainties  choice  and  rare ; 
'Tis  heaven  to  see  thy  smiling  face, 
Ten  heavens  to  feel  thy  Spirit's  rays. 

"  I  cannot  pay  the  thanks  I  owe, 
For  tasting  once  thy  love  below; 
Yet  cannot  rest,  till  I,  above, 
Shall  feast  for  ever  on  thy  love. 

*'  The  smallest  drop  of  precious  grace 
Demands  a  ceaseless  song  of  praise; 
Tet  largest  draughts  from  mercy's  store 
But  make  me  long  and  pant  for  more. 

'*  For  teaching  this,  thy  name  I  bless, — 
That  holiness  is  happiness ; 
Quite  happy  I  shall  never  be, 
Till  I  am  quite  conformed  to  thee. 

"  Oh!  strengthen  me  thy  will  to  do, 
And  what  thou  wilt  to  sufiPer  too ; 
Imperfect  here,  I  long  to  soar 
Where  I  shall  disobey  no  more. 

**  Lord!  be  thy  pleasure  always  mine; 
I  wish  to  have  no  will  but  thine ; 
This,  this  is  heaven  enough  for  me, 
Quite  to  be  swallowed  up  in  thee." 


MAEIA  GRACE  SAFFERY.  525 

MARIA  GRACE  SAFFERY. 

1773-1868. 

Mrs.  Saffery,  the  author  of  the  sweet  hymn, 

"  God  of  the  stmlight  hours !  how  sad," 

was  the  wife  of  a  Baptist  minister,  the  pastor  of  a  church  at 
Salisbury,  Wiltshire,  England.  The  particulars  of  her  early 
history  are  not  accessible.  She  published,  in  her  younger 
days,  a  romance  and  a  brief  poem.  At  the  age  of  sixty 
years  she  gathered  up  the  effusions  of  her  previous  life, 
and  published  them  (1834)  with  the  title:  "Poems  on  Sa- 
cred Subjects."  Several  of  these  were  written  for  particu- 
lar occasions,  at  her  husband's  suggestion.  Two  of  her 
hymns  were  contributed  to  Dr.  Lief  child's  "Hymns  appro- 
priated to  Christian  Union,  Selected  and  Original,"  Lon- 
don, 1846;  and  several  to  the  Baptist  Magazine.  She 
ended  her  earthly  course,  March  5,  1858,  at  the  great  age 
of  eighty-five  years. 

The  following  hymn,  on  the  "Baptismal  Rite,"  in  the 
English  Baptist  Collection,  reproduced  in  "  The  Psalmist," 
Boston,  1843,  is  from  her  pen;  it  was  wiitten  previous 

to  1818 : 

"  'Tis  the  great  Father  we  adore, 
In  this  baptismal  sign ; 
'Tis  he,  whose  voice,  on  Jordan's  shore, 
Proclaimed  the  Son  divbie. 

'*  The  Father  owned  him ;  let  our  breath 
In  answering  praise  ascend, 
As,  in  the  image  of  his  death 
We  own  our  heavenly  Friend. 

"  We  seek  the  consecrated  grave, 
Along  the  path  he  trod ; 
Receive  us  in  the  hallowed  wave, 
Thou  holy  Son  of  God! 


526  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Let  earth  and  heaven  our  zeal  record, 
And  future  witness  bear, 
That  we,  to  Zion's  mighty  Lord, 
Our  full  allegiance  swear. 

"  Oh!  that  our  conscious  souls  may  own, 
With  joy's  serene  survey, 
Inscribed  upon  his  judgment  throne, 
The  transcript  of  this  day." 


GEORGE  SANDYS. 

1577-1643. 

George  Sat^^dys  was  an  accomplislied  scholar  and  a  true 
poet.  Montgomery  regarded  his  Paraphrases  of  the  Psalms 
as  by  far  the  most  poetical  in  the  English  language. 

He  was  the  seventh  and  youngest  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Edwin  Sandys,  then  the  Archbishop  of  York,  England ; 
and  brother  of  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  the  second  son  of  his 
father.  He  was  born,  in  1577,  at  Bishopsthorpe,  his  father's 
residence.  He  was  matriculated  as  a  member  of  St.  Mary's 
Hall,  Oxford,  in  December,  1589,  but  received  his  tuition  in 
Corpus  Christi  College.  In  August,  1610,  he  started  on  an 
extensive  tour  through  Europe  and  into  Asia  and  Africa, 
perfecting  himself  in  the  languages  of  the  countries  that 
he  visited ;  and  returning  in  1612.  Of  this  journey,  he 
published  a  poetic  descriiotion,  entitled,  "The  Traveller's 
Thanksgiving."  A  prose  account,  in  small  folio,  followed 
in  1615,  with  the  title :  "  A  Relation  of  a  Joiirney  begun 
An.  Dom.  1610.  Foure  Bookes.  Containing  a  description 
of  the  Turkish  Empire,  of  AegyjDt,  of  the  Holy  Land,  of 
the  Remote  parts  of  Italy,  and  Hands  adioyning."  It  was 
far  in  advance  of  any  iDrevious  "  Ti-avels  "  published  in  Eng- 
land, in  relation  to  these  distant  regions. 


GEORGE  SANDYS.  527 

His  society,  thenceforward,  was  eagerly  sought  by  the 
wise  and  learned  and  accomplished.  In  1619,  his  brother, 
Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  became  the  Treasurer  of  the  London 
Company  for  planting  a  Colony  in  Virginia,  and  sent  him 
to  the  New  World,  as  his  representative.  While  there,  on 
the  banks  of  the  James  River,  he  occupied  his  spare  mo- 
ments, "  snatched  from  the  hours  of  night  and  repose,"  in 
the  translation  of  "Ovid's  Metamorphoses,"  into  English 
verse  ;— the  first  literary  production,  of  any  rank  or  name, 
penned  in  the  wilds  of  America  and  to  be  credited 

"  To  that  new-foimd-out- world,  where  sober  night 
Takes  from  th'  Antipodes  her  silent  flight," 

as  he  expresses  it  in  his  "  Review  of  God's  Mercies  to  him 
in  his  Travels."  His  Translation  of  Ovid  was  published 
soon  after  his  return,  in  1621.  The  folio  edition  of  his 
book  (1626)  was  dedicated  to  Charles  I.,  who  appointed 
him  one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Privy  Chamber  to  his 
Majesty. 

He  published,  in  1636,  "  A  Paraphrase  upon  the  Psalmes 
of  David,  and  upon  the  Hjinnes  dispersed  throughout  the 
Old  and  New  Testament."  In  subsequent  editions,  "Para- 
phrases on  Job,  Canticles,  Ecclesiastes,  and  Lamentations," 
were  included.  In  1640,  he  published  a  Translation  of 
Hugo  Grotius'  Latin  tragedy  on  "Christ's  Passion."  He 
resided,  in  later  years,  mostly  with  his  brother-in-law.  Sir 
Francis  Wenman,  at  Caswell,  near  Whitney,  Herefordshire. 
He  died  at  the  house  of  his  niece.  Lady  Margaret  Wyatt, 
Boxley  Abbey,  Kent,  the  first  week  in  March,  1643.  His 
burial  occurred  on  the  7th  of  March,  in  the  parish  church 
of  Boxley,     He  was  never  married. 

He  had  visited  the  Holy  Land  in  March,  1611,  and  made 
the  circuit  of  the  Holy  Places  at  Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem, 
of  which  he  gives  minute  descriptions  and  numerous  dia- 
grams. At  "  the  Temple  of  the  Sepulchre,"  which  he  vis- 
ited on  "Maundy  Thursday,"  he  was  devoutly  affected, 
and  makes  the  following  record  of  the  occasion :  "  Thou- 
sands of  Christians  perform  their  vows,  and  offer  their  tears 


628  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

here  yearly,  with  all  the  expressions  of  sorrow,  humility 
affection,  and  penitence.  It  is  a  frozen  zeal  that  will  not 
be  warmed  with  the  sight  thereof.  And,  oh,  that  I  could 
retain  the  effects  that  it  wrought,  with  an  unfainting 
perseverance  !  who  then  did  dedicate  this  hymn  to  my 
Redeemer : 

"  Saviour  of  mankind,  Man,  Emanuel  I 
Who  sinless  died  for  sin,  who  vanquished  hell; 
The  first-fruits  of  the  grave;  whose  life  did  give 
Light  to  our  darkness;  in  whose  death  we  live; — 
Oh !  strengthen  thou  my  faith ;  correct  my  will, 
That  mine  may  thine  obey;  protect  me  still, 
So  that  the  latter  death  may  not  devour 
My  soul  sealed  with  thy  seal.     So,  in  the  horn- 
When  thou,  whose  body  sanctified  this  tomb, 
Unjustly  judged,  a  glorious  Judge  shalt  come 
To  judge  the  world  with  justice,  by  that  sign 
I  may  be  known,  and  entertained  for  thine." 


SANTOLIUS  MAGLOEIAIS^US. 

1628-1684. 

Claude  de  Saistteul,  or  Santeuil  (better  known  as  San- 
tolius  Maglorianus),  was  of  an  ancient  Parisian  family, 
and  was  born  at  Paris,  February  3, 1628.  He  derived  his 
surname  from  his  long  abode,  as  a  secular  ecclesiastic,  in 
the  Seminary  of  St.  Magloire.  Such  was  his  humility,  that 
he  could  not  be  persuaded  to  aspire  to  the  priesthood.  The 
Archbishop  of  Paris  having  determined,  in  concert  with 
the  chapter  of  his  church,  to  reform  the  Paris  Breviary, 
Claude  de  Santeul  was  charged  with  the  work  of  compos- 
ing the  new  hymns.  He  prevailed,  however,  on  his  younger 
brother,  Jean  Baptiste,  to  undertake  the  principal  part  of 
the  work.  His  own  contributions  were  considerable  and 
admirable.    He  composed,  also,  several  other  hymns,  for 


SANTOLIUS  VICTOEINUS.  529 

particular  offices,  that  met  with  universal  approbation. 
More  than  300  of  his  hymns  were  left  in  MS.,  at  his  death, 
which  occurred,  at  Paris,  September  29,  1684. 

Such  was  his  reputation  for  extensive  and  accurate 
scholarship,  that  he  was  frequently  consulted  by  the  Bene- 
dictine Fathers,  as  to  the  various  readings  of  the  text, 
when  they  were  publishing  the  works  of  Augustine.  In 
erudition,  and  even  in  poetic  talent,  he  was  not  inferior  to 
his  more  celebrated  brother.  But  he  was  more  retiring, 
mild,  and  gentle.  His  candor,  simplicity,  and  humility, 
were  remarkable. 


SANTOLIUS   VICTOEINUS. 

1630-1697. 

Jean  Baptists  de  Santeul,  the  brother  of  Claude,  was 
born  at  Paris,  May  12, 1630.  He  studied,  at  first,  in  the 
College  of  St.  Barbe,  and  then  with  Father  Cossart,  a 
Jesuit.  He  entered  among  the  regular  canons  of  St.  Victor 
(whence  Ms  surname),  where  he  acquired  the  reputation  of 
being  an  excellent  poet.  Thenceforth  he  devoted  his  life 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  art,  and  became  everywhere  known 
as  "the  prince  of  French  hymnographers."  In  connection 
with  his  elder  brother,  he  composed  the  new  hymns  of  the 
Paris  Breviary.  He  performed  the  same  service  for  the 
Clugny  Breviary.  Ardent,  imj)assioned,  and  full  of  the 
poetic  fire,  he  was  ever  at  work,  writing  poems,  or  inscrip- 
tions for  the  public  monuments  of  Paris,  or  sonnets  for 
friends. 

He  Avas  honored  and  cherished  by  all  the  learned  men  of 
his  day,  and  was  admired  by  the  two  Princes  de  Cond^, 
father  and  son,  and  by  Louis  XIV.,  who  conferred  on  him 
a  pension.  He  died  at  Dijon,  August  5, 1697,  and  his  re- 
mains were  brought  to  Paris,  and  interred  with  great  honor, 
in  the  Abbey  of  St.  Victor.  His  hymns  were  published  in 
34 


530  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

1698,  and  were  universally  admired  by  the  French  savants. 
They  were  incorporated  into  the  Breviary  of  Orleans,  in 
1693  ;  of  Lisienx,  in  1704 ;  of  Narbonne,  in  1709  ;  and  of 
Meaux,  in  1713.  Bourdaloue  urged  their  incorporation  into 
the  Roman  Breviary. 


JOHANN   SCHEFFLER. 

162^1677. 

ScHEFFLER  is  better  known  as  "  Angelus  Silesius."  He 
was  born,  in  1624,  of  Lutheran  parents,  at  Breslau,  in  Si- 
lesia, and,  having  become  enamored  of  the  writings  and 
tenets  of  the  mystics,  more  particularly  those  of  a  Span- 
iard, named  John  ab  Angelis,  the  author  of  a  poem  on 
"The  Triumph  of  Love,"  he  took  the  name  of  "Angelus." 
Early  in  life  he  became  a  disciple  of  Jacob  Boehme,  the 
famous  shoemaker,  whose  writings  on  the  "  Inner  Life " 
were  widely  diffused  throughout  Silesia,  Germany.  De- 
voting himself  to  the  medical  profession,  he  studied  awhile 
in  the  University  of  Breslau,  his  native  town,  and  after- 
wards, having  obtained  the  degree  of  M.D.,  he  studied  at 
Strasburg.  He  visited,  also,  the  Universities  of  Holland, 
and  made  many  acquaintances  among  the  pious  of  different 
persuasions,  and  more  particularly,  of  a  society  at  Amster- 
dam, that  had  adopted  the  tenets  of  Boehme. 

On  his  return  to  Silesia,  in  1649,  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  private  physician  to  Sylvius  Nimrod,  the  Duke  of 
Wurtemberg-Oels.  Here  his  most  intimate  friend  was 
Abraham  von  Frankenberg,  a  disciple  and  biographer  of 
Boehme,  who  made  him  acquainted  with  the  writings  of 
Tauler,  Ruysbroeck,  Schwenkfeld,  and  other  mystics.  His 
friend,  at  death,  bequeathed  these,  and  a  large  number  of 
similar  works,  to  Scheffler.  The  Lutheran  clergy  regarded 
Scheffler  as  a  heretic,  and,  by  their  contentions,  so  disgusted 
him,  that  he  sought  refuge  (1653)  in  the  Roman  Catholic 


JOHANN  SCHEFFLER.  531 

Chiircli — drawn  tliither,  probably,  by  his  admiration  of 
Tanler,  Thomas  a  Kempis,  and  others  of  like  spirit  in  that 
connection.  The  most  of  his  hymns — and  he  wrote  many 
—were  composed  prior  to  this  event. 

He  now  became  the  private  physician  of  the  Emperor, 
Ferdinand  III.,  and  obtained  special  privileges  for  the  pro- 
scribed Romanists.  He  carried  on  a  fierce  controversy  Avith 
Herr  Freitag,  the  conrt  preacher  at  Oels.  Ere  long,  he 
abandoned  his  profession  entirely,  entered  the  Roman 
Catholic  priesthood,  and  returned  to  Breslau,  as  early  as 
1662.  In  the  meantime,  he  had  published  (1657)  his 
"  Sacred  Joys  of  the  Sonl,  or  the  Enamored  Psyche,"  in 
which  form  his  hymns  were  first  issued.  Others  appeared 
soon  after  in  "The  Mourning  Psyche."  In  1674,  he  pub- 
lished a  collection  of  spiritual  aphorisms,  under  the  title  of 
"  The  Cherubinical  Wanderer," — many  of  them,  "  pearls  of 
wisdom,  lustrous  with  a  wealth  of  meaning";  but  others 
tinctured  with  a  species  of  "  mystical  pantheism. " 

In  his  later  years,  he  found  a  retreat  in  the  Jesuit  Mon- 
astery of  St.  Matthias,  Breslau,  where  he  died,  July  9, 1677. 
Very  few  of  his  hymns  are  found  in  Roman  Catholic  hymn- 
books,  but  they  abound  in  the  books  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutherans.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  them  are  to  be  reck- 
oned among  the  most  precious  treasures  of  sacred  poetry. 
The  pietists  of  Halle  greatly  admired  them,  and,  through 
the  influence  of  Freylinghausen,  introduced  them  into  their 
hymn-books.     The  following  are  from  his  aphorisms : 

' '  My  God !  how  oft  do  I  thy  gifts  implore, 
Yet  know  I  crave  thyself  ! — Oh !  how  much  more ! 
Give  what  thou  wilt,  eternal  life,  or  aught. 
If  thou  withhold  thyself,  thou  giv'st  me  naught." 

"  The  nobler  aught,  the  commoner  't  will  be, — 
God  and  his  sunshine  to  the  world  are  free. " 

"  The  rose  demands  no  reasons;  she  blooms  and  scents  the  air, 
Nor  asks  if  any  see  her,  nor  knows  that  she  is  fair." 


532  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

BENJAMIN  SCHMOLKE. 
1672-1737. 

Bet^jamus"  Schmolke  was  a  native  of  Silesia,  the  home 
also  of  John  Scheffler.  His  father  was  the  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Brauchitchdorf,  where  the  son,  Benjamin,  was 
born,  December  21,  1672.  The  child  was  devoted,  from  his 
birth,  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Kind  friends  enabled 
the  impoverished  pastor  to  send  the  boy  to  the  University 
of  Leipsic.  On  one  occasion,  being  on  a  visit  home,  Benja- 
min preached  in  his  father's  church,  on  the  words :  "I  am 
poor  and  needy ;  yet  the  Lord  thinketh  upon  me ;  thou 
art  my  help  and  my  deliverer ;  make  no  tarrying,  O  my 
God ! "  One  of  the  hearers  was  so  affected  by  the  dis- 
course, as  to  contribute  a  considerable  sum  towards  his 
University  expenses. 

His  poetic  talent  Avas  early  developed,  and  was  made  re- 
munerative. His  other  publications,  also,  brought  him 
considerable  reputation.  His  pulpit  talents  were  no  less 
remarkable.  In  1694,  he  became  curate  to  his  aged  father, 
and  commended  himself  greatly  to  the  hearts  of  his  towns- 
men. Having  received  an  appointment  to  a  charge  in 
Schweidnitz  (1702),  he  was  married,  and  entered  u^Don  his 
new  charge  with  so  much  wisdom  and  zeal,  as  to  circum- 
vent the  Jesuits,  and  win  the  hearts  of  his  people.  A  vol- 
ume of  fifty  of  his  hymns  was  published  in  1704.  Ten 
years  after  (1714),  he  was  made  Pastor  Primarius  of  the 
town,  including  the  oflice  of  Church  and  School  Inspector. 

In  his  later  years,  he  was  subjected  to  the  discipline  of 
severe  affliction,  giving  a  plaintive  expression  to  the  hymns 
then  composed.  Half  the  town  was  destroyed  by  a  dread- 
ful conflagration,  September  12, 1716  ;  and  about  the  same 
time,  his  father  and  two  of  his  own  children  were  removed 
by  death.  He  poured  out  his  grief  in  several  volumes  of 
hymns,  which  followed  each  other  in  rapid  succession,  until 
the  lijnnns  numbered  at  least  a  thousand.     In  1730,  a  par- 


ELIZABETH  SCOTT.  533 

alytic  stroke  affected  his  right  side,  but  he  kept  at  work 
five  years  longer.  Two  more  attacks  deprived  him  of  his 
sight,  and  compelled  him  to  cease  from  preaching.  During 
these  last  years  of  trial,  his  hymns  reached  the  number  of 
1,188.  His  release  from  toil  and  pain  occurred  February 
12,  1737. 
Schmolke  was  the  author  of  the  hymn, 

"Mein  Jesu!  wie  du  willst!"  etc. 

["My  Jesus!  as  thou  wilt!" — Tr.,  Miss  J.  BORTHWICK.] 

which  has  become  a  great  favorite  with  the  devout,  espe- 
cially in  time  of  deep  afiliction. 


ELIZABETH  SCOTT. 

1708-1776. 

Elizabeth  Scott  was  the  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Scott,  of  Norwich,  England,  and  was  born  there,  probably 
in  1708.  Her  father  was  the  pastor  of  a  Dissenting  church, 
and  died  in  1740.  One  of  her  brothers  was  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Scott,  of  Ipswich.     [See  next  Sketch.] 

In  the  Correspondence  of  Dr.  Doddridge  is  found  a  letter 
dated  June  25,  1745,  addressed  to  the  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Scott,  of  Norwich  (undoubtedly  Elizabeth),  in 
which  it  appears  that  she  had  repeatedly  and  unreservedly, 
in  conversation,  as  well  as  by  letter,  opened  her  mind  to 
Dr.  Doddridge,  and  sought  his  spiritual  advice.  "  I  most 
faithfully  assure  you,"  says  Doddridge,  "  that  the  more  I 
know  you,  the  more  firmly  am  I  convinced,  not  only  that 
you  are  a  real^  but  that  you  are  a  riery  advanced  Christian." 

Having  "  refused  the  hand  of  Dr.  Doddridge,"  without 
the  loss,  however,  of  his  friendship,  she  married,  January 
27,  1751,  Colonel  Elisha  WiUiams,  of  Wethersfield,  Conn. 
The  sketch  of  Elisha  Williams  in  "  The  Genealogy  and  His- 
tory of  the  Family  of  Williams  "  contains  the  following : 
"  On  account  of  the  non-payment  of  the  troops,  he  was  so- 


634  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

licited  to  go  to  England,  and  sailed  December,  1749.  While 
tliere,  his  wife  died,  and  before  his  return,  he  married  Miss 
Elizabeth  Scott,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Scott,  of 
Norwich,  England,  a  lady  of  distinguished  piety  and  ac- 
complishments. He  left  England  in  1751,  narrowly  escaped 
shipwreck,  and  after  spending  some  months  in  Antigua, 
arrived  home  in  April,  1752.  He  died  [at  Wethersfield] 
July  24, 1755,  in  the  sixty-first  year  of  his  age,  of  cancer." 
Colonel  Williams  was  the  president  of  Yale  College  from 
1726  to  1739. 

Six  years  after  Colonel  Williams'  death,  she  married 
(1761)  Hon.  William  Smith,  of  New  York.  Mr.  Smith  died 
in  1769.  She  then  returned  to  Wethersfield,  where  she 
"  lived  with  relatives  of  her  first  husband  "  until  her  death, 
June  13,  1776. 

A  dedication  of  her  MS.  poems  to  her  father  is  given  in 
Dr.  Dodd's  Christian  Magazine  for  December,  1763.  Most 
of  her  hymns,  which  were  commenced  at  her  father's  sug- 
gestion, were  probably  composed  during  his  lifetime,  but 
were  not  published  until  many  years  after  his  death.  Sev- 
eral of  them  appeared  in  the  Christian  Magazine  for 
1763-64 ;  and  twenty-one  in  Ash  and  Evans'  Collection 
(1769),  eight  of  which  and  twelve  others  are  to  be  found  in 
DobeU's  Selection  (1806).  The  MS.  of  aU  her  hymns  and 
poems  is  in  the  Library  of  Yale  College. 

Her  "Morning  Hymn,"  on  Psalm  iii.  5,  is  among  her 
best  productions.     It  is  found  in  DobeU's  Selection : 

' '  See  how  the  risixig  sun 
Pursues  his  shuimg  way, 
And  wide  proclaims  his  Maker's  pi'aise, 
With  every  brightening  ray ! 

"  Thus  would  my  rising  soul 
Its  heavenly  parent  sing, 
And  to  its  great  Original 
The  humble  tribute  bring. 

"  Serene  I  laid  me  down 

Beneath  his  guardian  care ; 
I  slept,  and  I  awoke,  and  found 
My  kind  Preserver  near. 


THOMAS  SCOTT.  535 

*'  Thus  does  thine  arm  support 
This  weak,  defenceless  frame ; 
But  whence  these  favors,  Lord  !  to  me, 
So  worthless  as  I  am  ? 

"  Oh  !  how  shall  I  repay 

The  bounties  of  my  God  ? 

This  feeble  spu'it  pants  beneath 

The  pleasing  painful  load. 

"  Dear  Saviour  !  to  thy  cross 
I  bring  my  sacrifice ; 
Tinged  with  thy  blood,  it  shall  ascend 
.    With  fragrance  to  the  skies. 

"  My  life  I  would  anew 

Devote,  O  Lord  !  to  thee; 
And  iu  thy  presence  I  would  spend 
A  long  eternity." 


THOMAS  SCOTT. 

1776. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Scott  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Thomas 
Scott,  a  Dissenting  clergyman  of  Norwich,  England,  and 
the  nephew  of  "the  learned,  ingenious,  and  accurate"  Rev. 
Daniel  Scott,  a  Baptist  divine,  educated  at  Utrecht,  Hol- 
land, and  settled  at  Colchester,  England.  The  father  and 
the  uncle  were  both  Arians.  Tlie  father  died  in  1740,  and 
the  uncle  in  1759.  Doddridge  held  them  in  high  esteem. 
Thomas  was  born  at  Norwich,  and  was  carefully  trained 
by  his  father  for  his  own  profession.  Having  obtained 
the  usual  authority  to  preach,  he  took  charge  of  a  board- 
ing-school at  Wartmell,  Norfolkshire,  and  preached,  once 
a  month,  at  Harleston,  in  the  vicinity.  His  first  settlement, 
as  a  pastor,  was  at  Lowestoft,  Suffolkshire  (1733-1737). 


536  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

He  then  became  the  colleague  (1737)  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bax- 
ter, of  Ipswich,  by  whose  death  (1740)  the  full  pastoral 
charge  devolved  on  him.  He  continued  in  this  position 
twenty-one  years  as  sole  pastor,  and  thirteen  more  (1761- 
1774)  with  a  colleague.  About  two  years  before  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1776,  he  retired  from  his  pastorate. 

Like  his  father,  Mr.  Scott  was  an  Arian,  and  a  diligent 
student.  His  first'publication  was  an  excellent  poem,  enti- 
tled,— "A  Father's  Instructions  to  his  Son  "  (1748).  His  next 
was  also  a  poem,  of  sound  practical  morality,  called, — "  The 
Table  of  Cebes  ;  or  The  Picture  of  Human  Life  ;  in  English 
Verse,  with  Notes  "  (1754).  A  learned  and  valuable  quarto 
work  appeared  from  his  hand  in  1771, — "  The  Book  of  Job, 
in  English  Yerse ;  Translated  from  the  Original  Hebrew ; 
with  Remarks,  Historical,  Critical,  and  Explanatory."  An 
octavo  edition  was  issued  in  1773.  His  "Lyric  Poems 
and  Hymns,  Devotional  and  Moral,"  came  forth  the  same 
year.  He  contributed  (1772)  twelve  hymns  to  the  Warring- 
ton Collection,  compiled  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Enfield. 
The  following  lines  are  from  the  104th  of  his  "Lyric 
Poems": 

"  Eternal  Gospel  !  my  unerring  guide, 

The  worldling's  hatred  and  the  scorn  of  pride, 

No  visionary's  di'eam,  nor  fabling  wile, 

Frenzy's  illusion,  or  imposture's  guile, — 

Mean  were  thy  heralds,  but  then'  mission  sure, 

The  doctiines  humbling,  and  the  moral  pure, 

Benevolence  sublime ;  stupendous  scheme, 

God  to  exalt,  and  a  lost  world  redeem. 

In  vain  the  mighty  stormed,  the  learned  strove, 

The  truth  is  strong,  it  issued  from  above ; 

Scoffs,  chains,  and  death  in  all  the  shapes  of  fear, 

Menaced  in  vain ;  resistless  its  career ; 

By  wonder-working  powers,  and  native  charms, 

Its  sole  enticement,  and  its  only  arms, 

From  land  to  land  its  rajiid  conquests  spread, 

And  joy  and  beauty  on  the  nations  shed. 
Oh !  when  shall  this  divine  religion  run 

In  its  full  glory  with  the  cu'cling  sun  ? 

Come,  long-foretold,  long-wished,  triumphing  day  ! 

Fly,  intervening  ages  !  fly  away." 


WALTER  SCOTT.  537 

WALTER  SCOTT. 
1771-1832. 

"Waltee  Scott  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Walter 
Scott  wlioni  tradition  has  celebrated  as  "  Auld  Walt,"  of 
Harden,  whose  name  he  himself  has  "  made  to  ring  in  many 
a  ditty,"  and  of  "  The  Flower  of  Yan-ow,"  his  fair  dame. 
His  great-grandfather,  who  was  also  a  Walter,  was  known 
thronghout  Teviotdale,  as  "Beardie."  His  father,  Walter, 
of  Edinburgh,  was  Writer  to  the  Signet ;  and  his  mother, 
Anne,  herself  a  poet,  was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Ruth- 
erford, Medical  Professor  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
He  was  born,  a  younger  son,  in  Edinburgh,  August  15, 
1771. 

In  his  second  year,  he  was  afflicted  with  a  lameness  from 
which  he  never  entirely  recovered.  He  was  thus  unfitted 
for  the  turmoil  of  busy  outdoor  life,  and  was  bred  to  letters 
and  the  law.  His  precocity  was  remarkable.  Mrs.  Cock- 
burn,  a  relative  of  his  mother,  said  of  him,  when  he  was 
but  little  more  than  seven  years  old :  "  He  has  the  most 
extraordinary  genius  of  a  boy  I  ever  saw."  Having  received 
the  rudiments  of  education  at  a  private  academy  in  the 
town,  he  was  sent,  in  1779,  to  the  High  School  of  Edinburgh, 
under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Adams,  where  he  became  better 
known  as  a  teller  of  tales  than  as  a  scholar.  His  imagina- 
tion had  been  unduly  cultivated  from  his  infancy,  and  he 
delighted  in  tales,  and  ballads,  and  romances,  of  the  most 
exciting  character.  He  "  left  the  High  School,  therefore," 
to  use  his  own  words,  "with  a  great  quantity  of  general 
information, — ill-arranged  .  .  .  and  gilded  by  a  vivid  and 
active  imagination." 

But  for  his  lameness  he  would  now  have  given  himseK 
to  the  army,  for  which  he  had  quite  a  passion.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1783,  he  entered  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  came 
under  the  instruction  of  Prof.  Stewart.  Three  years  later, 
he  commenced  the  study  of  law  under  Prof.  Dick.     But 


538  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Percy's  "Reliques  of  Ancient  Poetry,"  of  which  he  had 
gained  possession,  on  his  entrance  to  the  University,  had 
vastly  more  charms  for  him  than  the  learned  tomes  of  the 
law-library.  In  May,  1786,  he  was  apprenticed  to  his  own 
father,  as  a  Writer  to  the  Signet.  About  the  same  time  he 
was  taken  with  a  severe  hemorrhage,  and  reduced  to  the 
very  gates  of  death.  His  recovery  was  tedious,  and  during 
his  convalescence  of  two  years,  being  left  to  his  own  will, 
he  devoured,  with  surprising  avidity,  the  novels  and  ro- 
mances of  a  circulating  library  to  which  he  had  gained 
access.  In  April,  1788,  he  joined  a  class  of  six  or  seven 
friends  in  the  study  of  German  under  Dr.  Willich,  and 
thus  was  introduced  to  numerous  other  works  of  the  im- 
agination. 

In  July,  1792,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and,  for  some 
years,  he  practised  law  in  his  native  town.  A  visit  of  Miss 
Anna  Lsetitia  Aikin  to  Edinburgh,  in  the  summer  of  1794, 
was  the  occasion,  as  he  relates  in  his  "  Essay  on  Imitations 
of  the  Ancient  Ballad,"  of  making  him  acquainted  with 
Burger's  Lenore,  a  German  ballad ;  and  such  was  the  fas- 
cination of  the  work,  that  he  rendered  it  into  English  bal- 
lad verse  in  a  single  night.  Shortly  alter,  he  made  a  simi- 
lar translation  of  Biii'ger's  "  Der  Wilde  Jager  "  ("  The  Wild 
Huntsman  ").  This  was  in  1795.  He  was  induced  to  print 
these  first  effusions  of  his  muse  ;  and,  in  1796,  appeared  his 
first  publication,  entitled, — "  The  Chace,  and  William  and 
Helen  ;  Two  Ballads,  from  the  German  of  Gottfried  Augus- 
tus Biii-ger."  As  a  pecuniary  speculation,  and  as  a  bid  for 
fame,  the  venture  was  an  entire  failure.  It  "  proved  a  dead 
loss,  and  a  great  part  of  the  edition  was  condemned  to  the 
service  of  the  trunk-maker."  "  The  very  existence  of  them 
was  soon  forgotten."     Such  is  his  own  statement. 

The  next  year  (1797)  he  became  the  husband  of  Miss 
Charlotte  Margaret  Carpenter,  the  orphan  daughter  of 
Jean  Charpentier,  a  royalist  of  Lyons,  France.  She  was  a 
lady  of  great  attractions  and  excellency.  Not  discouraged 
by  the  fate  of  his  first  literary  venture,  he  continued  his 
German  studies,  and  translated  several  dramas  into  English 


WALTER  SCOTT.  539 

verse.  In  1799,  lie  publislied  "  Goetz  of  Berlichingen,  with 
the  Iron  Hand ;  a  Tragedy,  translated  from  the  German." 
At  length  he  ventured  on  the  production  of  something 
original,  of  which  the  ballads  of  "  Gleniinlas,"  "  The  Eve 
of  St.  John,"  "  The  Fire  King,"  and  "  Frederick  and  Alice," 
were  the  first  fruits,  and  were  contributed  to  Lewis'  "  Tales 
of  Wonder"  in  1801.  "My  efforts,"  he  says,  "to  present 
myself  before  the  public  as  an  original  writer  proved  as 
vain,  as  those  by  which  I  had  previously  endeavored  to 
distinguish  myself  as  a  translator." 

Almost  any  other  man  would  now  have  abandoned  the 
line  of  authorship,  and  devoted  himself  to  his  professional 
work.  But  Scott,  who  had  fully  recovered  his  health  and 
acquired  great  robustness  of  body,  was  not  to  be  put  back. 
In  1800,  he  obtained  the  preferment  of  Sheriff  of  Selkirk- 
shire, yielding  him  £300  a  year,  and  removed  to  Ashestiel, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Tweed.  His  father  had  died,  and  left 
him  a  small  patrimony,  so  that,  with  the  addition  of  his 
wife's  annuity, he  was  provided  with  a  comfortable  income. 
His  leisure  was  now  given  to  the  production  of  the  "  Min- 
strelsy of  the  Scottish  Border,"  in  two  volumes  (published 
.in  1802),  which  was  received  with  favor,  and  gave  him  con- 
siderable fame.  A  third  volume  appeared  in  1803,  followed, 
in  1805,  by  "The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,"  his  first  great 
success.  He  was  now  ranked  among  the  first  poets  of  the 
age,  and  his  position  as  a  wTiter  of  extraordinary  ability 
secured. 

On  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Home  (1806)  from  the  office  of 
a  principal  clerkship  in  the  Court  of  Sessions,  Scott  was 
appointed  his  successor,  with  a  salary  of  £800,  which  was 
increased,  at  Mr.  Home's  death,  to  £1,300  a  year.  He  was 
thus  relieved  from  the  necessity  of  practising  law,  and  gave 
himself  up  mostly  to  literary  pursuits.  "Marmion,"  pub- 
lished in  1808,  brought  him  £1,000.  "The  Lady  of  the 
Lake"  was  given  to  the  public  in  June,  1810.  Both  of 
these  poems  brought  him  the  most  flattering  commenda- 
tions. They  were  received  with  universal  applause.  "  The 
Vision  of  Don  Roderick  "  followed,  June,  1811. 


O40  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

He  now  removed  some  six  or  seven  miles  downtlie  Tweed, 
and  established  himself  on  a  farm  of  a  hundred  acres,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  "  Abbotsf ord. "  Here,  in  the 
closing  months  of  1812,  he  wi^ote  "  Rokeby "  (published, 
January,  1813).  Byron  had  Just  electrified  the  literary 
w^orld  with  the  first  part  of  his  "Childe  Harold,"  and 
"  Rokeby "  came  short  of  its  predecessor,  though  well  re- 
ceived. "The  Lord  of  the  Isles"  (January,  1815),  "The 
Bridal  of  Triermain,"  "The  Field  of  Waterloo"  (1815), 
and  "  Harold,  the  Dauntless  "  (December,  1816),  completed 
his  principal  poetic  productions. 

Scott  had,  in  1805,  written  a  few  chapters  of  "  Waver- 
ley,"  and  laid  them  aside.  In  1814  he  resumed  the  work  and 
published  it  anonymously,  in  July  of  that  year.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  that  popular  series  of  twenty-seven 
works,  called  "The  Waverley  IS'ovels,"  numbering  about 
seventy  volumes,  which  occupied  him  mainly  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  and  by  which  he  acquired  both  fame 
and  wealth.  In  1820,  a  baronetcy  was  conferred  on  him  by 
George  lY.,  and  he  took  his  place  among  the  landed  aris- 
tocracy of  the  Border.  By  constant  accretions,  Abbotsf  ord 
became  a  vast  domain— the  humble  cottage  growing  into  a. 
baronial  manor,  in  which  he  delighted  to  exercise  a  lordly 
hospitality. 

By  the  failure  of  his  publishers,  A.  Constable  &  Co.  and 
Ballantyne  &  Co.,  of  Edinburgh,  in  January,  1826,  Sir  Wal- 
ter became  a  bankrupt,  his  losses  amounting  to  £150,000. 
He  had  been  a  secret  partner  with  the  Ballantynes  for  many 
years.  Giving  up  his  town  house  and  everything  but  Ab- 
botsford  to  his  creditors,  by  a  series  of  herculean  labors 
he  produced  volume  after  volume,  including  "  The  Life  of 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,"  in  rapid  succession,  and  was  suc- 
ceeding nobly  in  reducing  the  amount  of  his  indebtedness, 
when  he  was  obliged,  by  physical  exhaustion,  to  abandon  the 
pursuit,  and  cease  from  intellectual  toil.  Leaving  home  in 
September,  1831,  he  visited  the  south  of  Europe,  but  too  late 
to  arrest  the  progress  of  disease.  In  July,  1832,  he  reached 
Abbotsf  ord,  and  sunk  daily  more  and  more,  until  his  death, 


WALTER  SCOTT.  541 

September  21, 1832.  Lady  Scott  survived  Ms  bankruptcy 
but  a  few  montlis,  dying,  May  15,  1826.  He  had  paid 
£100,000  of  Ms  debts,  and  the  remainder  was,  not  long 
after,  cancelled  by  the  proceeds  of  his  copyrights  in  the 
"  Waverley  Novels."  He  left  two  sons  and  two  daughters, 
the  elder  of  the  latter,  Sophia,  married  to  J.  G.  Lockhart, 
his  biographer.  They  all  died  childless,  with  the  exception 
of  Mrs.  Lockhart.  Her  two  sons  died  young,  and  her  only 
daughter  was  married  in  1847  to  James  Robert  Hope,  who, 
by  virtue  of  an  Act  of  Parliament,  assumed  the  name  of 
Scott.  Their  daughter,  Mary  Morrice  Hope  Scott,  born  in 
1852,  now  owns"Abbotsford,"  and  is  the  sole  surviving 
descendant  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,— his  great-granddaughter. 
It  must  ever  be  a  matter  of  regret  that  one  who  was  so 
gifted  as  a  poet,  and  wrote  so  much  exquisite  verse,  should 
have  written  so  little  in  the  line  of  sacred  lyrics.  Besides 
the  version  of  a  brief  portion  of  Celano's  "  Dies  L:8e  "  (found 
in  "  The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel "),  and  the  hymn  here 
subjoined,  it  is  not  known  that  he  has  contributed  anything 
to  the  stores  of  hymnology : 

"  When  Israel,  of  the  Lord  beloved. 

Out  of  the  land  of  bondage  came ; 
Her  father's  God  before  her  moved, 

An  a^vfid  guide  in  smoke  and  flame : 
By  day,  along  th'  astonished  lands, 

The  cloudy  pillar  glided  slow ; 
By  night,  Arabia's  crimsoned  sands 

Returned  the  fiery  column's  glow. 

"  There  rose  the  choral  hymn  of  praise, 

And  trump  and  timbrel  answered  keen ; 
And  Zion's  daughters  poured  their  lays. 

With  priest's  and  warrior's  voice  between: 
No  portents  now  our  foes  amaze. 

Forsaken  Israel  wanders  lone ; 
Our  fathers  would  not  know  thy  ways, 

And  thou  hast  left  them  to  their  own. 

*'  But  present  still,  though  now  unseen, 

When  brightly  shines  the  prosperous  day; 


543  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Be  fhoughts  of  thee  a  cloudy  screen 
To  temper  the  deceitful  ray : 

And,  Oh !  when  stoops  on  Judah's  path, 
In  shade  and  storm,  the  frequent  night, 

Be  thou  long-suffering,  slow  to  wrath, 
A  burning  and  a  shining  light. 

"  Our  harps  we  left  by  Babel's  streams. 

The  tyrant's  pest,  the  Gentile's  scorn ; 
No  censer  round  our  altar  beams, 

And  mute  are  timbrel,  trump  and  horn: 
But  thou  hast  said, — 'The  blood  of  goat. 

The  flesh  of  rams,  I  will  not  pi'ize ; 
A  contrite  heart,  a  humble  thought, 

Are  mine  accepted  sacrifice.' " 


EGBERT  SEAGRAVE. 
1693 

The  Rev.  Robeet  Seagrave  was  the  son  of  tlie  Rev. 
Robert  Seagrave,  who  was  the  Yicar  (1687-1720)  of  Twy- 
ford,  Leicestershire,  England.  He  was  born  at  the  vicar- 
age, November  22, 1693,  and  educated  by  his  father  for  the 
ministry.  He  entered  Clare  Hall,  Cambridge,  November  8^ 
1710,  and  graduated,  A.B.,  1714,  and  A.M.,  1718.  He  took 
orders  in  1715,  but  the  particulars  of  his  early  ministry  are 
not  known.  Being  thoroughly  orthodox,  he  was  greatly 
tried  with  the  laxity  of  morals  among  the  clergy.  In  1731, 
he  issued,  anonymously,  "A  Remonstrance  addressed  to 
the  Clergy,  showing  where  the  Charm  of  Deism  (without 
returning  to  the  Old  Divinity)  will  necessarily  terminate. 
By  a  Friend  of  the  Clergy."  It  is  a  pamphlet  of  seventy- 
eight  pages,  and  defends  supernaturalism  against  the  ra- 
tionalism of  the  period.  Tliis  was  probably  his  first  publi- 
cation. 

In  1736,  he  issued  "A  Letter  to  the  People  of  England, 
occasioned  by  the  Falling  Away  of  the  Clergy  from  the 


ROBERT  SEAGRAVE.  543 

Doctrines  of  the  Reformation.  By  Paulinus."  A  Sermon, 
on  Gal.  iii.  24,  followed  (1737),  in  defence  of  Ms  "  Letter," 
and  bearing  the  title, — "  A  Draught  of  the  Justification  of 
Man,  different  from  the  present  Language  of  our  Pulpits. 
By  Robert  Seagrave,  A.M.,  Author  of  the  Letter  to  the 
People  of  England."  He  pursued  the  subject  (1737)  in 
"Six  Sermons  upon  the  Manner  of  Salvation,  being  the 
Substance  of  Christianity,  as  preached  at  the  Time  of  the 
Reformation."  The  next  year  (1738),  he  published  "  Ob- 
servations upon  the  Conduct  of  the  Clergy  in  Relation  to 
the  Thirty-Nine  Articles.  Wherein  is  showed.  That  the 
Church  of  England,  properly  so  called,  is  not  now  existing. 
With  an  Essay  towards  a  real  Protestant  Establishment," 
pp.  67. 

He  had  now  withdrawn  from  the  Established  Church. 
In  1739,  he  became  Evening  Lecturer  at  Lorimer's  [Leather- 
Cutter's,  or  Saddler's]  Hall,  Cripplegate,  near  Moorfields. 
He  lectured  here,  also,  weekly,  on  Tuesday  and  Thurs- 
day evenings.  The  same  year,  he  published  "  An  An- 
swer to  The  Reverend  Dr.  Trapp's  four  Sermons  against 
Mr.  Wliitefield.  Shewing  The  Sin  and  Folly  of  being  An- 
gry overmuch.  With  a  View  to  explain  the  Present  Con- 
troversy, and  Point  out  the  True  Ground  of  his  being  dis- 
agreeable to  the  Clergy."  To  this  succeeded,  also  in  1739, 
"  Remarks  upon  the  Bishop  of  London's  Pastoral  Letter, 
in  Vindication  of  Mr.  Whitefield  and  his  particular  Doc- 
trines." The  following  year  (1740),  he  came  again,  anon- 
ymously, to  the  defence  of  the  Great  Revivalist,  in  "The 
Case,  between  Mr.  Whitefield  and  Dr.  Stebbing,  stated: 
wherein  The  Necessity,  ISTature,  Manner,  and  Eifects  of 
Regeneration  Are  very  Largely  considered,  and  the  Whole 
Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  New  Birth  Explained  and  De- 
fended." 

Mr.  Whitefield  was,  at  this  time,  in  Savannah,  whence 
he  wrote,  June  26,  1740,  to  Mr.  Seagrave :  "  And  is  one  of 
the  priests  also  obedient  to  the  word  ?  Blessed  be  God,  the 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  translated  you 
from  darkness  to  light, — from  the  power  of  Satan  to  the 


544  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

service  of  tlie  ever-living  God.  .  .  .  O  dear  Sir,  rejoice  and 
be  exceeding  glad ;  and  let  tlie  love  of  Jesus  constrain  yon 
to  go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  to  compel  poor 
sinners  to  come  in.  .  .  .  Go  on,  dear  Sir,  go  on,  and  follow 
your  glorious  Master,  without  the  camp,  bearing  his  sacred 
reproach.  .  .  .  O  dear  Sir !  though  I  know  you  not,  yet  my 
heart  is  enlarged  towards  you,"  etc.  On  his  return  to  Eng- 
land, in  March,  1741,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Sea- 
grave,  and  gladly  welcomed  him  among  his  co-laborers. 
The  erection  of  the  Tabernacle,  Moorfields,  soon  followed, 
and  Seagrave  became  one  of  its  regular  preachers. 

In  1742,  he  published  "  Hymns  for  Christian  Worship, 
partly  Composed  and  partly  Collected  from  Various  Au- 
thors": 50  hymns,  pp.  82.  A  2d  edition  appeared  the  same 
year;  a  3d,  in  1744,  and  a  4th,  in  1748,  each  of  them  enlarged. 
The  hymns  are  of  a  high  order.  The  next  year  (1743),  he 
published  "  Christianity :  how  far  it  is,  and  is  not,  founded 
on  Argument."  It  was  about  this  time,  that  his  ministry 
was  blessed  to  John  Griffith  (1714-1798),  who,  in  1749, 
joined  the  Tabernacle  Society,  and,  in  1754,  became  the 
pastor  of  the  Red  Cross  Street  Congregation,  London.  His 
next  issue  from  the  press  was  "  The  True  Protestant :  a  Dis- 
sertation, showing  the  Necessity  of  asserting  the  Princi- 
ples of  Liberty  in  their  full  Extent."  In  1753,  he  was  the 
preacher  at  the  Bull-and-Mouth  [Boulogne-Mouth]  Street 
Chapel.  In  1755,  he  came  again  before  the  public,  in  his 
latest  publication,  entitled,—"  The  Principle  of  Liberty ; 
or  The  Right  of  Mankind  to  judge  for  themselves  in  Mat- 
ters of  Faith  without  positive  or  compulsive  Determina- 
tion." 

No  further  trace  of  Mr.  Seagrave  has  been  found.  He 
had  closed  his  engagement  at  Lorimer's  Hall,  and  probably 
died  shortly  after  the  year  1755.  His  writings  and  labors 
show  him  to  have  been  a  clear-headed,  orthodox,  able,  and 
godly  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  An  accurate  Reprint  of 
his  (50)  Hymns,  with  a  Biographical  Sketch,  was  included 
(1860)  by  Mr.  Daniel  Sedgwick  in  his  "Library  of  Spiritual 
Songs." 


EGBERT  SEAGRAVE.  545 

TTis  hymns  are  mostly  in  advance  of  tlie  times  in  wMch. 
he  lived — quite  superior  to  much  of  the  material  of  which 
the  Compilations  of  that  day  were  framed.  "  The  Pilgrim's 
Song,"  beginning 

"  Rise,  my  soul  I  and  stretch  thy  wings," 

is  one  of  the  most  useful  and  popular  hymns  in  current  use. 
The  following  five  stanzas,  from  a  hymn  of  nine  stanzas,  to 
be  sung  "  At  the  Opening  of  Worship,"  constitute  the  first 
hymn  in  Mr.  Whitefield's  Collection.  They  are  the  1st, 
2d,  5th,  7th,  and  9th  of  the  original : 

' '  Now  may  the  Spirit's  holy  fire 
Descending  from  above. 
His  waiting  family  inspire 
With  joy,  and  peace,  and  love. 

"  Thee  we  the  Comforter  confess; 
Shouldst  thou  be  absent  here, 
Our  songs  of  praise  are  vain  address. 
We  utter  heartless  prayer. 

"  Wake,  heavenly  Wind!  arise  and  come, 
Blow  on  the  drooping  field ; 
The  plants  and  flowers  shall  breathe  perfume, 
By  thee  their  incense  yield. 

*'  Touch,  with  a  living  coal,  the  lip. 
That  shall  proclaim  thy  word. 
And  bid  each  awful  hearer  keep 
Attention  to  the  Lord. 

"  Hasten  the  restitution-day. 

Which  now  corruption  shrouds. 
New  heavens  and  new  earth  display, 
With  Jesus  in  the  Clouds." 

35 


546  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

EDMUND  HAMILTON  SEARS. 
1810-1876. 

Mr.  Seaes  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Sears,  of  Sandisfield, 
Berkshire  County,  Mass.,  where  he  was  born,  April  6, 1810. 
He  was  educated  at  Union  College,  graduating  in  1834. 
He  studied  for  the  ministry  at  the  Theological  School, 
Cambridge,  Mass.  (1834^1837).  In  1838,  he  became  the 
pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  (Unitarian)  of 
Wayland,  Mass. ;  and,  in  1840,  removed  to  Lancaster,  Mass. 
In  1847,  the  loss  of  his  health  compelled  him  to  return  to 
his  former  charge  in  Wayland.  In  1865,  he  removed  to 
Weston  (near  Concord),  and  took  charge  of  the  Unitarian 
Church  of  that  town. 

Dr.  Sears  became  known  as  an  author  in  1854,  when  his 
treatise  on  "  Regeneration,"  written  at  the  request  of  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  American  Unitarian  Associa- 
tion, was  published.  His  "  Pictures  of  the  Olden  Time,  as 
shown  in  the  Fortunes  of  a  Family  of  the  Pilgrims,"  ap- 
peared in  1857,  and  his  "  Athanasia ;  or  Foregleams  of  Im- 
mortality," in  1858.  The  following  year,  he  became  asso- 
ciated with  the  Rev.  Rufus  Ellis,  in  the  editorial  charge  of 
The  Montlily  Religious  Magazine,  published  at  Boston, 
for  which,  during  the  next  twelve  years  (1859-1871),  he 
wrote  numerous  articles,  both  in  poetry  and  prose.  The 
honorary  degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  on  him,  in  1871,  by 
Union  College.  The  next  year  (1872),  he  published  "The 
Fourth  Gospel  the  Heart  of  Christ ";  and,  in  1875,  a  volume 
of  "  Sermons  and  Songs."    He  died  in  1876. 

His  Christmas  Hymn,  beginning 

"  Calm  on  the  listening  e&r  of  nigM," 

has  been  pronounced  by  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  "  one  of 
the  finest  and  most  beautiful  hymns  ever  written."  The 
original  contains  five  double  stanzas.     Of  the  same  length 


AAEON  CROSSLEY  HOBART  SEYMOUR.  547 

and  character  is  liis  second  Christmas  Hymn,  beginning 

with 

"  It  came  upon  the  midnight  clear." 

The  following  sweet  hymn,  on  "  Feed  my  Lambs,"  was  con- 
tributed (1864)  to  "Hymns  of  the  Spiiit": 

"  Ho!  ye  that  rest  beneath  the  rock, 

On  pastures  gently  growing, 
Or  roam  at  will,  a  favored  flock, 

By  waters  gently  flowing  ! 
Hear  ye,  upon  the  desert  air, 

A  voice  of  woe  come  crying, 
Where,  cold  upon  the  barren  moor, 

God's  little  lambs  are  dying. 

"  See  the  great  Shepherd  bend  and  call 

From  fields  of  light  and  glory, — 
'  Go,  feed  my  lambs,  and  bring  them  all 
From  moor  and  mountain  hoary  ! ' 
Ye  favored  flock  !  the  call  obey, 

And,  from  the  desert  di'eary. 
Lead  those  who  faint  along  the  way, 
Or  wander,  lost  and  weary." 


AARON  CROSSLEY  HOBART  SEYMOUR. 

1789 . 

Mk.  Seymour  is  chiefly  known  as  the  compiler  and  edi- 
tor of  "  The  Life  and  Times  of  Selina,  Countess  of  Hunting- 
don," a  work  of  great  labor  and  research,  which,  after  thirty 
years  of  careful  preparation,  was  published  (1839)  in  two 
volumes,  at  London.  His  father,  the  Rev.  John  Crossley 
Seymour,  Vicar  of  Cahirelly,  Diocese  of  Cashel,  Ireland, 
was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Sir  Henry  Seymour,  the  brother 
of  Jane  Seymour,  third  wiie  of  Henry  YIII.  His  mother 
was  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Wight,  Rec- 


548  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

tor  of  Meelick,  Limerick,  Ireland.  His  younger  brother, 
the  Rev.  Michael  Hobart  Seymour,  is  the  well-known  au- 
thor of  "  Mornings  among  the  Jesuits  at  Rome,"  "  Evenings 
with  the  Romanists,"  and  several  similar  works. 

Mr.  Seymour  was  born  in  the  county  of  Limerick,  Ire- 
land, December  19,  1789,  and  was  liberally  educated,  with 
religious  inclinations  from'  his  early  youth.  At  the  age  of 
twenty,  he  was  seriously  disabled  by  a  hemorrhage  of  the 
lungs,  that  for  a  considerable  time  prevented  all  physical 
exertion.  His  leisure  was  devoted  to  the  composition  of 
"  Vital  Christianity,  exhibited  in  a  Series  of  Letters  on  the 
most  Important  Subjects  of  Religion,  addressed  to  Young 
Persons,"  published  in  1810.  It  contained  several  hymns, 
and  other  poems.  The  next  year  (1811)  he  published  "  Me- 
moirs of  the  Rev,  George  Whitefield,"  based  on  Dr.  Gil- 
lies' Life  of  Whitefield,  \\ith  numerous  additional  sketches. 
In  1816,  he  published  "  Memoirs  of  Miss  Charlotte  Brooke," 
prefixed  to  her  "ReUques  of  Ancient  Irish  Poetry." 

He  entered  upon  the  work  of  compiling  "  The  Life  and 
Times  of  Selina,  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon,"  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Haweis,  and  with  the  sanction 
of  the  Countess  of  Moira,  the  only  surviving  daughter  of 
Lady  Huntingdon.  A  vast  amount  of  information  is 
brought  together,  from  all  accessible  sources,  illustrative 
of  the  "  Life  and  Times  "  of  the  Countess.  But  as  a  "  Life  " 
of  the  Countess,  the  work  is  far  from  satisfactory.  The 
reader  is  confused  and  perplexed  in  pursuing  his  way 
through  the  numerous  retrogressions  and  digressions  of 
the  "  Times,"  and  finds  it  difficult  to  determine  his  bear- 
ings. The  deficiency  in  well-defined  dates  is  most  notice- 
able. The  book  is  a  great  storehouse  of  ill-arranged  facts, 
awaiting  the  hand  of  a  skillful  compiler.  Some  of  his  state- 
ments have  been  criticised  for  tnaccuracy. 

Mr.  SejTnour  was,  for  many  years,  a  constant  contributor 
to  The  Evangelical  Magazine,  The  Congregational  Maga- 
zine, The  Wesleyan  Methodist  Magazine,  The  Christian 
Guardian,  The  Youth's  Magazine,  Bentley's  Miscellany, 
and  some  other  publications. 


MARY  STANLEY  BUNCE  SHINDLER.  549 

He  also  took  a  great  interest  in  hjnnnology,  especially 
in  connection  witli  the  psalmody  of  Lady  Huntingdon's 
Chapels.  In  early  life,  he  wrote  frequently  in  verse.  The 
hymn  beginning 

"  Jesus,  immortal  King!  arise," 

is  from  his  "  Vital  Christianity  "  (1810).  The  hymn  begin- 
ning with 

"Awake,  all-conquering  Arm !  awake," 

ascribed  to  him  by  Miller  and  others,  was  written  by  Dod- 
dridge, and  is  a  part  of  the  121st  of  his  hymns,  as  pub- 
lished by  Orton,  in  1755. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  in  early  life,  with  the  help 
of  a  brother  and  one  other  Christian  friend,  he  established 
a  prayer-meeting  among  the  students  of  the  University  of 
Dublin,  to  the  number  of  forty,  nearly  all  of  whom  be- 
came useful  ministers  of  the  Established  Church.  For 
many  years,  from  1850,  Mr.  Seymour  lived  in  Kaples  for 
the  benefit  of  his  impaired  health ;  then  he  removed  to 
England,  and  resided  in  Bristol. 


MARY  STANLEY  BUNCE  SHINDLER. 
1810 . 

Mrs.  Shii^dler  is  better  known  as  Mrs.  Dana.  She  is 
the  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Morgan  Palmer,  D.D., 
and  Mary  Stanley  Bunce.  At  the  time  of  her  birth,  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1810,  her  father  was  the  Pastor  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  at  Beaufort,  S.  C.  Four  years  afterwards 
(1814),  he  removed  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  became  the 
Pastor  of  the  Circular  Church  of  that  city. 

She  was  educated,  in  the  best  manner,  at  the  school  of  the 
Misses  Ramsay,  Charleston,  and  at  distinguished  schools 
In  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  and  New 


5jO  the  poets  of  the  chuech. 

Haven,  Conn.  She  was  married,  December  19, 1835,  to  Mr. 
Charles  E.  Dana,  of  New  York.  Her  husband  was  taken 
from  her  by  death,  in  1839,  at  theu^  western  home,  whither 
they  had  removed  the  year  previous.  The  story  of  her 
sorrows  she  has  touchingly  portrayed  in  the  Introduction 
to  her  "Southern  Harp": 

"  There  was  a  time  when  all  to  me  was  ligM; 
No  shadows  stole  across  my  pathway  bright. 
I  had  a  dai'ling  sister, — ^but  she  died ! 
For  many  years  we  wandered  side  by  side, 
And  oft  these  very  songs  she  sung  with  me ; 
No  wonder,  then,  if  they  should  plaintive  be ! 
I  had  an  only  brother, — and  he  died — 
Away  from  home,  and  from  his  lovely  bride; 
And,  not  long  after,  those  I  loved  too  well, 
Pale — cold — and  still— in  death's  embraces  fell ; 
In  two  short  days  on  me  no  more  they  smiled, 
My  noble  husband,  and  my  only  child! " 

Returning  to  the  home  of  her  youth,  she  devoted  herself 
to  literature.  She  ^vrote  for  The  Rosebud,  a  periodical 
conducted  by  her  friend,  Mrs.  Caroline  Gilman.  In  1841, 
she  published  "  The  Southern  Harp  ;  consisting  of  Original 
Sacred  and  Moral  Songs,  adapted  to  the  Most  Popular 
Melodies,  for  the  Piano-Forte  and  Guitar";  and,  at  the 
close  of  the  same  year,  "  The  Northern  Harp,"  etc.  The  two 
volumes  obtained  a  very  large  patronage.  These  were  fol- 
lowed (1842)  by  the  "  Parted  Family  and  other  Poems  ;  An 
Offering  to  the  Afflicted,  and  a  Tribute  of  Love  to  Departed 
Friends  ";  and  "  The  Temperance  Lyre."  "  Charles  Morton  ; 
or  The  Young  Patriot,"  came  from  the  press  in  1843,  fol- 
lowed, in  1845,  by  "The  Young  Sailor,"  and  "Forecastle 
Tom." 

In  the  meantime,  Mrs.  Dana  had  become  a  Unitarian, 
greatly  to  the  grief  of  her  parents  and  friends.  In  1845, 
she,  therefore,  issued  a  volume  of  "  Letters  Addressed  to 
Relatives  and  Friends,  chiefly  in  Reply  to  Arguments  in 
Support  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity."  In  October,  1847, 
she  began  to  publish,  in  The  Union  Magazine,  a  series 


MAEY  STANLEY  BUNCE  SHINDLER.      561 

of  entertaining  "Southern  Sketches."  Shortly  after,  she 
returned  to  the  faith  of  her  parents,  and,  in  May,  1848, 
was  married  to  the  Rev.  Robert  D.  Shindler,  an  Episcopal 
clergjnnan,  then  officiating  in  St.  Matthew's  Parish,  S.  C. 
In  1851,  Mr.  Shindler  became  a  Professor  in  Shelby  Col- 
lege, Ky.  Several  years  later,  he  was  settled  (ab.  1860)  at 
Ripley,  Tenn. ;  then  they  removed  to  San  Augustine,  Texas, 
and  afterwards  Mr.  Shindler  became  the  Rector  of  Christ 
Church,  Nacagdoches,  Texas.  Since  her  second  marriage, 
she  appears  to  have  withdrawn  very  much  from  public 
notice. 
The  following  beautiful  song  is  from  her  "Southern 

Harp  ": 

"  Blessed  Sabbath!  how  I  love  thee, 
Sacred  pledge  of  coming  rest ! 
Sweetest  solace,  may  I  prove  thee, 
For  a  heart  with  woes  oppressed ! 
Surging  billows,  rolling  o'er  me. 

Seek  to  whelm  my  trembling  soul; 
But  thy  tokens  pass  before  me. 
And  the  waters  backward  roll. 

"  Pealing  anthems,  loud  resounding. 

Seem  like  blissful  songs  above ; 
In  thy  temple,  joys  abotmding 

Bathe  my  soul  in  seas  of  love : 
Prayerful  odors,  upward  stealing 

From  the  altars  of  the  heart, 
Heavenly  glories  there  revealing, 

Call  my  spirit  to  depart. 

"  Faith's  bright  visions  thus  unfolding, 

Here  would  I  my  sorrows  bring, 
TUl  my  raptured  soul,  beholding. 

Soars  aloft  on  steady  wing : 
Then,  forgetting  all  my  sadness, 

Gloom  and  doubt  will  pass  away ; 
Drooping  sorrow  change  to  gladness, 

Cheerless  night  to  glorious  day." 


552  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

SELINA  SHIRLEY,  COUNTESS  OF  HUNTINGDON. 

1707-1791. 

A  conspicuous  place  in  the  Annals  of  tlie  Churcli  is  to 
be  accorded  to  the  Lady  Selina  Shirley,  the  Countess  of 
Huntingdon.  A  sincere  and  devout  Christian,  moving,  in 
every  period  of  her  life,  among  the  highest  classes  of  Brit- 
ish society,  with  all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  that  large 
wealth  and  lofty  station  could  command,  her  greatest  glory 
was  in  the  Cross  of  Christ,  and  her  greatest  delight  was  to 
extend  the  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer.  Few  women,  in  any 
age,  have  accomplished  as  much  for  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

She  was  the  second  of  the  three  daughters  of  Washing- 
ton Shirley,  the  second  Earl  of  Ferrers,  and  Mary,  the 
daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Levinge,  Bart.  She  was  born, 
August  24,  1707,  at  her  father's  seat,  Staunton  Harold, 
Leicestershire,  four  miles  to  the  northeast  from  Ashby-de- 
la-Zouch,  the  domain  of  the  Earl  of  Huntingdon,  as  Mar- 
quis of  Hastings,  and  ten  or  twelve  miles  south  from  Don- 
nington  Castle,  the  Earl's  residence.  Her  youth  was  marked 
by  great  sobriety  and  thoughtfulness.  In  her  twenty- 
first  year,  June  3,  1728,  she  became  the  wife  of  Theophi- 
lus  Hastings,  the  ninth  Earl  of  Huntingdon.  Seven  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them  within  the  next  ten  years.  The 
care  of  her  young  family  occupied  nearly  the  whole  of  her 
time  during  this  period ;  and  the  exercise  of  a  generous 
hospitality  and  abounding  charity,  at  Donnington  Park, 
secured  for  her  the  reputation  of  a  "Lady  Bountiful." 

In  the  winter  of  1738-39,  while  at  their  London  home, 
Downing  Street,  Westminster,  the  sisters  of  the  Earl,  Lady 
Betty,  and  Lady  Margaret,  Hastings,  were  attracted  to  the 
meetings  of  the  Messrs.  Wesley,  Whitefield,  and  Ingham, 
at  Neville's  Court  Chapel,  Fetter  Lane.  Lady  Margaret 
was  the  first  to  experience  the  power  of  renewing  and 
divine  grace.  In  conversation  with  the  Countess,  she  said, 
"  that  since  she  had  known  and  believed  in  the  Lord  Jesus 


SELINA  SHIELEY,  COUNTESS  OF  HUNTINGDON.     553 

Christ  for  life  and  salvation,  slie  had.  been  as  happy  as  an 
angel."  It  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  Conntess  ;  and, 
during  a  severe  and  alarming  illness,  soon  after,  she,  also, 
was  led  to  accept  the  Gospel  message.  She  now  gave  her- 
self wholly  to  the  service  of  God,  and  entered  heartily  into 
the  work  of  evangelization.  With  her  husband,  who  was 
in  entire  sympathy  Avith  her,  she  attended  the  meetings  of 
the  Methodists,  and  invited  the  preachers  to  her  hospitable 
mansion. 

The  Earl  died  of  apoplexy,  October  13,  1746,  and  she  was 
left  with  the  command  of  a  large  fortune.  Two  years  later, 
she  took  a  house  in  Park  Street,  Grosvenor  Square,  ap- 
pointed Whitefield  (just  returned  from  America)  her  chap- 
lain, and  opened  her  spacious  parlors  for  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel ;  and  there,  at  her  special  invitations,  many  of 
the  nobility  listened  to  the  word  from  the  lips  of  White- 
field,  Romaine,  and  other  evangelical  preachers. 

But  her  work  was  not  confined  to  her  parlors.  She 
sought  the  most  zealous  and  godly  ministers  of  the  Church 
of  England,  brought  them  to  London,  and  employed  them 
as  her  chaplains  and  preachers.  When  the  Tabernacle  was 
rebuilt,  she  attached  herself  to  the  congregation,  besides 
contributing  freely  to  its  erection ;  as  afterwards  to  Tot- 
tenham Court  Road  Chapel,  She  assisted  her  preachers  in 
the  work  of  itinerating  and  organizing  societies  all  over  the 
kingdom.  She  encouraged  the  young  converts  to  speak  for 
their  Lord,  and  the  most  promising  to  enter  the  ministry. 
She  built  chapels,  at  Brighton,  Tunbridge  Wells,  Bath, 
Bristol,  Birmingham,  and  other  places,  more  than  three- 
score in  all,  and  appointed  supplies  for  the  pulpits. 

An  ecclesiastical  body  grew  up  under  her  fostering  hand, 
which  took  the  name  of  "Lady  Huntingdon's  Connection." 
Though,  like  the  Wesleys,  she  never  left  "  The  Church," 
she  became  the  head  of  a  large  body  of  churches  and  min- 
isters, outside  of  the  Establishment,  holding  Annual  Con- 
ferences, stationing  preachers,  training  students  at  her  Col- 
lege in  Trevecca,  Wales  (opened  in  1768),  building  chapels, 
and  providing,  among  her  friends,  and  the  friends  of  the 


554  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Gospel,  the  means  of  maintainiiig  all  tliese  enterprises. 
]S'ot  unfrequently,  slie  accompanied  her  preachers  on  their 
evangelistic  excursions,  and  encouraged  the  feeble  societies 
by  her  sympathizing  presence.  As  long  as  he  lived,  George 
Whitefield  was  her  counselor,  and  chief  preacher.  She  and 
her  "  Connection "  were  Calvinists  of  the  type  of  Hervey, 
Berridge,  and  Romaine. 

Her  most  useful  life  was  greatly  prolonged.  In  her 
eighty-fourth  year,  November,  1790,  she  ruptured  a  blood- 
vessel, which  brought  on  a  gradual  decline,  during  which 
she  exhibited  the  utmost  resignation  and  confidence. 
As  the  hour  of  her  departure  drew  on,  she  said:  "My 
work  is  done ;  I  have  nothing  to  do,  but  to  go  to  my 
Father."  She  finished  her  work,  and  entered  into  rest, 
June  17, 1791, — dying  at  her  house,  adjacent  to  her  chapel, 
in  Spa  Fields.  Her  remains  were  deposited  in  the  family 
vault,  at  Ashby-de-la-Zouch. 

In  1764,  she  published  a  Collection  of  179  Hymns,  for 
the  use  of  her  chapels.  The  book  was  enlarged  in  succes- 
sive editions.  The  work  underwent,  in  1774,  a  thorough 
revision  by  her  cousin,  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  Walter  Shirley, 
and  was  published  with  the  title, — "  A  Select  Collection  of 
Hymns,  to  be  universally  sung  in  all  the  Countess  of  Hunt- 
ingdon's Chapels.  Collected  by  her  Ladyship.  'What 
meanest  thou,  O  sleeper!  Arise,  call  upon  thy  God.' 
Jonah,  ch.  i.,  ver.  6."  It  contained  297  Hymns.  The  hymn, 
on  the  Last  Judgment,  beginning 

"  We  soon  shall  hear  the  midnight  cry," 

is  attributed  to  her  pen,  and  appeared  in  the  fourth  edition 

(1772).     In  most  Collections,  the  second  part,  beginning 

with 

"  When  thou,  my  righteous  Judge,  shalt  come," 

is  alone  given.  It  is  not  known  that  she  wrote  any  other, 
although  she  has  been  credited  with  several ; — if  any,  they 
can  not  now  be  identified. 


WALTER  SHIRLEY.  555 

WALTER  SHIRLEY. 
1725-1786. 

Me.  Shikley  belonged  to  the  noble  house  of  Ferrers. 
He  was  the  fourth  son  of  the  Hon.  Laurence  Shirley,  who 
was  himself  the  fourth  son  of  Robert  Shirley,  the  first  Earl 
Ferrers,  and  brother  of  the  second  and  third  Earls.  Wal- 
ter, the  son,  was  the  brother  of  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth 
Earls,  and  the  first  cousin  of  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon, 
whose  father  was  the  second  Earl.  His  mother,  Anne,  was 
the  daughter  of  Sir  Walter  Clarges,  Bart,  (for  whom  he 
was  named),  of  Aston,  Hertfordshire,  and  granddaughter 
of  Philip,  the  fourth  Earl  of  Pembroke  and  first  Earl  of 
Montgomery.  Her  son,  Walter,  was  bom  in  1725,  and  re- 
ceived a  liberal  education.  At  the  house  of  Lady  Hunting- 
don, he  was  made  acquainted  with  the  Rev.  Henry  Venn, 
then  of  Clapham,  near  London.  The  conversation  and 
preaching  of  Mr.  Venn,  then  a  youth  of  great  promise,  re- 
sulted in  Mr.  Shirley's  conversion. 

Having  obtained  orders  in  the  Church  of  England,  he 
was  employed  awhile  in  supplying  pulpits,  and  preaching, 
as  opportunity  offered,  at  London.  He  was  presented,  in 
1758,  to  the  Rectory  of  Loughrea,  County  Galway,  Ireland, 
in  the  diocese  of  Tuam,  a  living  in  the  gift  of  the  Earl  of 
Clanricarde,  who  was  of  the  Shirley  lineage.  Here,  and 
often  at  Dublin,  as  well  as  in  his  frequent  and  protracted 
visits  in  England,  he  faithfully  preached  the  Gospel,  amid 
obloquy,  and  fierce  opposition  from  the  clergy  and  others. 
Though  called  to  an  account  for  his  "exceptionable  doc- 
trines," by  his  superiors,  he  boldly  declared  his  determina- 
tion to  preach  the  doctrines  of  the  Articles  and  Homilies, 
"in  defiance  of  the  whole  world." 

In  the  early  part  of  1760,  he  was  deeply  afflicted  by  the 
conduct  of  his  eldest  brother  Laurence,  Earl  Ferrers.  On 
the  13th  of  February,  the  Earl  was  arrested  and  sent  to 


556  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

the  Tower,  for  the  mnrder  of  his  steward,  Mr.  Johnson,  at 
Staunton  Harold.  He  was  brought  to  trial,  April  16th,  and 
on  the  18th  condemned  to  be  hanged  and  dissected.  The 
execution  took  place,  May  5th,  at  Tyburn.  Tlie  unhappy 
affair  created  a  great  commotion  at  the  time,  and  Mr.  Shir- 
ley was  greatly  exercised  in  respect  to  his  brother.  It 
has  been  conjectured,  but  is  not  known,  that  it  was  shortly 
after  this  event,  that  he  wrote  the  hymn,  of  which  the  sec- 
ond stanza  begins  with 

"Peace,  troubled  soul !  whose  plaintive  moan." 

He  was  married,  August  27, 1766,  to  Miss  Henrietta  Ma- 
ria, the  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Phillips,  of  Dublin, 
Ireland.  One  son  and  three  daughters  were  the  fruit  of 
this  happy  union.  In  the  years  1770,  1771,  Mr.  Shirley 
was  involved  in  a  controversy  with  the  Wesleys,  and  their 
preachers.  The  "  Conference,"  held  at  London,  in  August, 
1770,  had  adopted  a  Declaration  in  respect  to  Calvinism, 
that  seriously  offended  their  CaMnistic  brethren.  In  con- 
sequence, Mr.  Shirley  issued  a  Circular  letter  to  the  seri- 
ous clergy  and  others,  urging  them  to  go,  in  a  body,  to  the 
Conference  to  be  held  at  Bristol  in  1771,  and  insist  on  a 
formal  recantation  of  the  obnoxious  Minutes.  The  recan- 
tation was,  after  considerable  discussion,  secured.  This 
was  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  writing  his  celebrated 
*'  Checks  to  Antinomianism "  (addressed  to  Mr.  Shirley), 
and  of  the  controversy  that  followed. 

In  1774,  at  the  request  of  Lady  Huntingdon,  Mr.  Shirley 
prepared  a  new  and  revised  edition  of  her  Hymn-Book, 
which,  with  some  additions  after  her  decease,  became  the 
standard  hymn-book  of  the  Connection.  In  1760,  he  had 
published  a  volume  of  Sermons,  dedicated  to  his  parishion- 
ers at  Loughrea,  to  which  Mr.  Fletcher  made  repeated  ref- 
erence in  his  " Checks."  He  also  published  a  " Narrative" 
of  the  transactions  at  "the  Bristol  Conference."  Besides 
his  poem  on  "  Liberty,"  appended  to  his  "  Sermons,"  and 
another  on  "  Tlie  Judgment,"  he  WTote  several  hjTnns,  of 
which  the  following  are  perhaps  the  most  familiar : 


WALTER  SHIELEY.  657 

"Lord!  dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing,"  etc., 
"  Worthy  the  Lamb  of  boundless  sway,"  etc., 
and 

"Flow  fast,  my  tears!  the  cause  is  great,"  etc. 

It  may  be  proper  to  credit  him,  also,  with  the  well-known 
lyric,  beginning 

"Sweet  the  moments,  rich  in  blessing," 

originally  written  by  the  Rev.  James  Allen,  bnt  so  thor- 
oughly reconstructed  by  Mr.  Shirley,  as  to  constitute  a 
new  and  much  more  perfect  hjnnn. 

He  continued  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a 
Gospel  iDreacher,  until  he  was  worn  down  by  disease  of  a 
dropsical  character.  When  he  could  no  longer  go  abroad, 
he  gathered  the  people  around  him  at  home,  and,  sitting  in 
his  chair,  i)roclaimed  the  message  of  salvation  to  the  listen- 
ing and  anxious  multitude  that  thronged  the  place.  He 
died,  April  7,  1786,  at  the  house  of  his  brother-in-law, 
George  Kiernan,  Dublin,  in  his  sixty-first  year. 

Mr.  Shirley's  hymns  were  first  published  in  the  revised 
edition  (1774)  of  Lady  Huntingdon's  Collection.  The  fol- 
lowing was  Avritten  to  be  sung  "  before  Sermon  " : 

"  Soui'ce  of  light  and  power  divine ! 
Deign  upon  thy  truth  to  shine ; 
Lord!  behold  thy  servant  stands, — 
Lo !  to  thee  he  lifts  his  hands ; 
Satisfy  his  soul's  deshe, 
Touch  his  lips  with  holy  fire. 

"  Softly  fall  the  healing  sound, 
Like  the  dew-drop  on  the  ground ; 
Drooping  plants  shall  soon  revive. 
Faith  in  bud  begin  to  live, 
And  enlarged  shall  soon  disclose 
Beauties  of  the  full-blown  rose. 

"  In  thy  pure  and  holy  way, 
Heights  and  greater  heights  display ; 
So  that  while  our  race  we  run. 
We  may  think  it  but  begun ; 


558  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Nor  the  past  contemplate  more, 
Urgent  still  on  what's  before. 

"  Ope  thy  treasures;  so  shall  fall 
Unction  sweet  on  him,  on  all ; 
Till,  by  odors  scattered  round, 
Christ  himself  be  traced  and  found; 
Then  shall  every  raptured  heart 
Rich  in  peace  and  joy,  depart." 


WILLIAM  SHRUBSOLE. 

1759-1829. 

Mr.  Shrubsole  was  born  at  Sheerness,  Kent,  England, 
November  21, 1759.  His  father,  William  Shrubsole,  born 
(1729)  at  the  maritime  town  of  Sandwich,  Kent,  was  a  la- 
borious shipwright  of  Sheerness.  At  the  time  of  his  son's 
birth,  he  was  employed  as  an  humble  laborer  in  the  Dock- 
yard, during  the  week,  and  as  a  lay-reader,  on  the  Sabbath, 
for  a  feeble  body  of  Dissenters  gathered  mainly  from  the 
poorer  classes  of  the  neighborhood.  Subsequently  he  be- 
came a  recognized  preacher,  though  still  continuing  to  la- 
bor at  his  trade  to  the  end  of  life  (1797). 

At  a  suitable  age,  the  son,  also,  became  a  shipwright,  and 
labored  in  the  Dockyard  at  Sheerness.  Subsequently,  he 
obtained  a  clerkship,  under  one  of  the  superior  officers, 
and  so  conducted  himself  as  to  be  generally  esteemed. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-six,  he  went  up  to  London,  and  was 
appointed  a  clerk  in  the  Accountant's  department  of  the 
Bank  of  England, — boarding  with  the  Rev.  Richard  Wood- 
gate,  the  pastor  of  the  Jewin  Street  Chapel,  who  was  a  friend 
of  his  father,  having  served  with  him  in  Chatham  Dock- 
yard as  a  shipAvright,  while  holding  the  pastorate  of  a  Dis- 
senting congregation.  His  religious  impressions  were  thus 
deepened,  and  at  length  resulted  in  a  thorough  conversion. 
He  connected  himself  with  the  church  at  Easter,  1787.     On 


WILLIAM  SHRUBSOLE.  559 

the  death  of  Mr.  Woodgate,  in  June  of  the  same  year,  he 
removed  to  Walworth,  where  he  continued  until  his  mar- 
riage to  a  Miss  Morris,  of  the  Tabernacle,  in  1791.  His 
wife  died  in  1810  ;  and,  in  1812,  he  took  apartments  in  the 
Bank  of  England,  which  he  occupied  until  his  death.  His 
position  at  the  Bank  was,  from  time  to  time,  made  more  re- 
sponsible and  honorable,  as  well  as  lucrative,  resulting  in 
his  appointment,  at  length,  as  Secretary  to  the  Committee 
of  the  Treasury. 

At  the  formation  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  he 
became  one  of  its  ardent  friends,  and,  soon  after,  one  of  its 
Directors  and  honorary  Secretaries.  He  took  a  i)rominent 
part  in  the  Bible  Society,  the  Religious  Tract  Society,  the 
Hibernian  Society,  the  London  Female  Penitentiary,  and 
other  similar  institutions.  He  rendered  great  service  to 
Hoxton  Academy  (since  Highbury  College),  and  sought  in 
every  way  to  promote  the  cause  of  religion.  He  was  well- 
read  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  history  and  doctrines  of 
the  Church,  and  wielded,  also,  a  ready  and  skillful  pen. 
He  made  several  contributions,  prose  and  verse,  to  the 
Catalogue  of  "  The  Religious  Tract  Society,"  and  the  col- 
umns of  The  YouWs  Magazine.  He  was  universally  re- 
spected and  esteemed,  in  business  and  religious  circles. 
He  was  generally  regarded  as  a  model  man  of  business ; 
distinguished  for  great  accuracy  and  reliability;  of  ster- 
ling integrity ;  and  withal  kind,  affable,  and  exemi)lary 
as  a  true  Christian  gentleman.  He  died,  August  23,  1829, 
at  Highbury,  London,  of  apoplexy,  having  nearly  completed 
the  seventieth  year  of  his  age. 

In  addition  to  several  excellent  hymns  still  in  current 
use,  he  wrote,  in  verse,  a  "  Christmas  Carol,"  and  an  "  Elegy 
on  the  Death  of  Lord  Nelson."    The  hymn  beginning 

"When,  streaming'  from  the  Eastern  skies," 

was  contributed  to  the  August  Number  of  the  CJiristian 
Ohsermr  for  1813.  It  is  signed,  "Probus,"  and  entitled, 
"Daily  Duties,  Dependence  and  Enjoyment."    His  hymn, 

"Zion!  awake,  thy  strength  renew,"  etc., 


560  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

was  contributed,  with  the  signature,  W.  S.,  to  the  July 
jN'umber  of  the  Evangelical  Magazine  for  1796.  The 
hymn  beginning  with 

"Arm  of  the  Lord!  awake,  awake," 

was  included  in  a  smaU  volume  of  "  Missionary  Hymns," 
published  in  1795.  They  are  all  reproduced  in  Dr.  Morri- 
son's "  Missionary  Fathers  "  (1844),  where  they  are  attribu- 
ted to  Mr.  Shrubsole.  The  following  stanzas  are  from  a 
hymn  of  six  stanzas,  entitled, — "Looking  unto  Jesus": 

*'  In  aU  the  paths  my  feet  pursue, 

While  travelling  to  my  heavenly  rest, 
My  wearied  powers  their  sti'ength  renew, 

My  spiiit  feels  divinely  blessed. 
When,  Saviour !  to  thy  cross  I  fl.ee. 
And  my  whole  sotd  commit  to  thee.  • 

"  When  with  a  weight  of  care  I  bend. 

Oppressed  beneath  the  heavy  load. 
And  troubles  every  step  attend, 

In  life's  perplexed  and  rugged  road, 
Then,  O  my  Saviour !  be  thou  near. 
My  cares  to  take,  my  heart  to  cheer. 

**  Soon  what  will  all  the  world  avail. 

Its  hopes  and  fears,  its  joys  and  strife  ? 

Soon  even  flesh  and  heart  must  fail, 
And  leave  me  on  the  verge  of  life ; 

Then,  Saviour !  thou  my  portion  be, 

In  death  and  in  eternity." 


LYDIA  HUNTLEY  SIGOURNEY. 

1791-1865. 

Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigoueney  was  the  only  child  of  Ezekiel 
Huntley,  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  where  she  was  born,  Sep- 
tember 1, 1791.    Her  father,  who  was  a  firm  and  patriotic 


LYDIA  HUNTLEY  SIGOURNEY.  561 

defender  of  liis  country  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution, 
had  charge  of  the  estate  of  Madam  Lathrop  (a  physician's 
widow  and  a  governor's  daughter),  and  resided  in  her  spa- 
cious mansion,  where  his  illustrious  daughter  was  born. 

The  wild  and  picturesque  scenery  in  the  midst  of  which 
her  youth  was  passed,  and  from  which  she  gathered  so  much 
poetic  inspiration,  she  thus  describes  :  , 

"Sweetly  wild 
Were  the  scenes  that  charmed  me  when  a  child : — 
Rocks— gray  rocks,  with  their  caverns  dark, 
Leaping  rills,  like  the  diamond  spai'k. 
Torrent  voices,  thundering  by, 
When  the  pride  of  the  vernal  floods  swelled  high, 
And  quiet  roofs,  like  the  hanging  nest, 
Mid  cliffs,  by  the  feathery  foliage  di*essed." 

She  was  a  precocious  child,  having  learned,  at  three  years 
of  age,  to  read  well,  and,  at  seven,  to  compose  simple 
verses,  rhythmical  and  religious.  She  grew  to  womanhood, 
in  the  midst  of  the  most  relined  society  of  the  period,  and 
with  the  best  educational  advantages. 

In  her  nineteenth  year  she  opened,  and  for  two  years 
(1810-1812)  conducted,  at  Norwich,  a  school  for  young 
ladies,  associating  with  herself  her  most  intimate  friend. 
Miss  Ann  Maria  Hyde,  whose  beautiful  life  she  commem- 
orated, after  her  early  decease,  in  "The  Biography  and 
Writings  of  Ann  Maria  Hyde,"  published  in  1816.  She 
removed  to  Hartford,  Conn.,  in  1814,  where  she  opened  a 
select  school  for  young  ladies.  She  had,  for  years,  accus- 
tomed herself  to  composition,  both  in  poetry  and  prose ; 
and,  in  1815,  at  the  solicitation  of  appreciative  friends,  she 
was  induced  to  commit  to  the  press  her  first  volume,  enti- 
tled, "  Moral  Pieces  in  Prose  and  Verse," — favorably  noticed 
in  the  first  Number  of  the  North  American  Remew,  May. 
1815.  It  led  to  the  reception  of  requests,  from  various 
periodicals,  for  contributions  from  her  pen.  In  the  summer 
of  1819,  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Charles  Sigourney,  of 
Huguenot  descent,  a  merchant  of  Hartford,  and  a  gentle- 
man of  education  and  literary  taste.  She  now  became  the 
36 


562  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

mistress  of  a  beautiful  rural  residence,  commanding  an  ad- 
mii-able  view  of  the  town  and  its  surroundings — her  happy 
home  for  twenty  years  of  a  most  active  life. 

Without  attempting  to  follow  her,  in  the  career  of 
authorship  upon  which  she  entered  not  long  after  her  mar- 
riage, it  will  be  much  more  to  the  j)urpose  to  call  attention 
to  the  following  resume  of  her  literary  life  from  the  pen 
of  the  late  Prof.  Charles  D.  Cleveland,  of  Philadelphia : 

"  The  true  interests  of  her  own  sex  and  the  good  of  the 
rising  generation  stimulated  her  efforts  in  such  works  as 
'  Letters  to  Pupils ';  '  Letters  to  Young  Ladies ';  '  Whisper 
to  a  Bride';  and  '  Letters  to  Mothers.'  The  guidance  of 
the  unfolding  mind,  impressed  on  her,  as  it  was,  night  and 
day,  by  the  assiduous  home-culture  of  her  own  children, 
called  forth  the  'Child's  Book';  'Girl's  Book';  'Boy's 
Book';  'How  to  be  Happy';  and  a  variety  of  other  Juve- 
nile works,  which  have  been  deservedly  popular.  A  convic- 
tion of  the  importance  of  Temperance  suggested  '  Water- 
Drops';  of  the  blessings  of  Peace,  'Olive  Leaves.'  'Scenes 
in  my  Native  Land '  portray  some  of  the  attractions  of  the 
country  that  she  loved  ;  and  '  Pleasant  Memories  of  Pleas- 
ant Lands '  give  us  life  pictures  of  a  tour  [1840]  in  Europe. 
Those  '  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships '  find  a  comi^anion 
in  her  '  Sea  and  Sailor ';  the  forgotten  red  man  is  remem- 
bered in 'Pocahontas';  the  harp  of  comfort  for  mourners 
is  hung  upon  the  '  Weeping  Willow';  while  the  young  and 
blooming  may  hear  her  '  Voice  of  Flowers '  among  the 
lilies  of  the  field.  '  Sayings  of  the  Little  Ones,  and  Poems 
for  their  Mothers,'  express  her  sympathies  for  the  helpless 
stranger  just  entering  life ;  '  Past  Meridian,'  for  the 
wearied  pilgrim  trembling  at  the  gates  of  the  west ;  while 
'  Lucy  Howard's  Journal '  shows  the  influence  of  a  right 
home-training  on  the  duties  and  destinies  of  woman. " 

She  wrote  not  less  than  fifty-six  volumes,  besides  contrib- 
uting more  than  2,000  articles  to  nearly  300  different  period- 
cals.  AVith  wonderful  versatility,  and  with  keen  powers  of  ob- 
servation, ever  alive  to  the  calls  of  humanity,  philanthropy, 
and  religion,  she  was  ready  to  seize  upon  passing  events 


LYDIA  HUNTLEY  SIGOUENEY.  563 

and  tides  of  thought,  and  in  easy-flowing  veise  to  give 
expression  to  her  large-hearted  sympathy  in  every  good 
work.  The  late  Samuel  G.  Goodrich,  one  of  her  neighbors 
and  intimate  friends,  says :  "Few persons  living  have  exer- 
cised a  wider  influence  than  Mrs.  Sigourney ;  no  one  that 
I  now  know  can  look  back  upon  a  long  and  earnest  career 
of  such  unblemished  beneficence." 

After  a  union  of  nearly  forty  years,  her  husband  was  re- 
moved by  death,  December  30,  1854,  in  his  seventy-seventh 
year.  She  survived  him  untU  June  10,  1865,  when  she, 
also,  peacefully  entered  into  rest. 

Mrs.  Sigourney  wrote  but  few  hymns.  She  made  some 
contributions  to  Nettleton's  "Village  Hymns"  (1824),  to 
Leonard  Bacon's  Supplement  to  Dwight's  Collection  (1833), 
to  the  Connecticut  Collection  (1845),  and  a  few  others.  The 
following,  wiitten  not  later  than  1830,  was  suggested  by 
the  words,-«-"As  thy  day,  so  shall  thy  streng-th  be": 

"  When  adverse  "winds  and  waves  ax*ise, 
And  in  my  heart  despondence  sighs, — 
When  life  her  throng  of  care  reveals, 
And  weakness  o'er  my  spirit  steals, — 
Grateful  I  hear  the  kind  decree, 
That,  '  as  my  day,  my  strength  shall  he. 

"  When,  with  sad  footsteps,  mem'ry  roves 
Mid  smitten  joys,  and  buried  loves, — 
When  sleep  my  tearftd  pillow  flies, 
And  dewy  morning  drinks  my  sighs, — 
Still  to  thy  promise,  Lord !  I  flee, 
That,  '  as  my  day,  my  strength  shall  be.' 

"  One  trial  more  must  yet  be  passed, — 
One  pang, — the  keenest  and  the  last; 
And  when,  with  brow  convulsed  and  pale, 
My  feeble,  quivering  heart-strings  fail, 
Redeemer !  grant  my  soul  to  see 
That,  'as  her  day,  her  strength  shall  be.'  " 


564  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


CAROLINE  SPRAGUE  SMITH. 

"  About  tlie  year  1853,"  says  Mrs.  Smitli,  in  a  letter  to 
tlie  compiler  of  these  sketches,  "  I  heard  the  Rev.  Dr.  H. 
M.  Dexter,  of  Boston,  preach  a  sermon  on  '  The  Adapted- 
ness  of  Religion  to  the  Wants  of  the  Aged.'  I  went  home 
and  embodied  the  thought  in  the  hjnnn, 

'  Tarry  with  me,  O  my  Saviour! ' 

I  sent  it  to  Mr.  Hallock,  for  TTie  Messenger.  He  returned 
it  as 'not  adapted  to  the  readers  of  the  paper.'  Years 
after  I  sent  it,  without  any  signature,  to  the  little  Andover 
paper.  ...  I  send  it  to  you  in  its  original  form,  in  a  little 
paper  of  which  my  sister,  Mrs.  Terry  [Rochester,  N.  Y.], 
is  editress." 

Mrs.  Smith  resides  at  Andover,  Mass.  She  is  the  wife  of 
the  Rev.  Charles  Smith,  the  pastor  of  the  South  Congre- 
gational Church  of  Andover.  Her  maiden  name  was  Caro- 
line L.  Sprague.  She  was  born  at  Salem,  Mass.  The  hymn 
in  its  original  form,  is  subjoined  : 

"THE   OLD   MAN'S   PRAYER." 

"  Suggested  by  a  sermon  from  Luke  xxiv.  29  :  '  Abide  with  us  ;  for  it  is  toward 
evening,  and  the  day  is  far  spent.'  " 

1.  "  Tarry  with  me,  O  my  Saviour! 

For  the  day  is  passing  by ; 
See,  the  shades  of  evening  gather. 

And  the  night  is  drawing  nigh ; 
Tarry  with  me — tarry  with  me ! 

Pass  me  not  unheeded  by ! 

2.  "  Many  friends  were  gathered  round  me, 

In  the  bright  days  of  the  past; 
But  the  grave  has  closed  above  them, 

And  I  linger  here  the  last ! 
I  am  lonely :  tarry  with  me 

Till  this  dreary  night  is  past. 


CAROLINE  SPRAGUE  SMITH.  565 

3.  "  Dimmed  for  me  is  earthly  beauty ; 

Yet  the  spirit's  eye  would  fain 
Rest  upon  thy  lovely  features : 

Shall  I  seek,  dear  Lord,  in  vain  ? 
Tarry  with  me,  O  my  Saviour ! 

Let  me  see  thy  smile  again. 

4.  "  Dull  my  ear  to  earth-bom  music : 

Speak  thou,  Lord!  in  words  of  cheer; 
Feeble,  tottering  my  footstep, 

Sinks  my  heart  with  sudden  fear : 
Cast  thine  ai-ms,  dear  Lord !  around  me, 

Let  me  feel  thy  presence  near. 

5.  "  Faithful  memory  paints  before  me 

Every  deed  and  thought  of  sin ; 
Open  thou  the  blood-filled  fountain, 

Cleanse  my  guilty  soul  within : 
Tarry,  thou  forgiving  Savioiir  I 

Wash  me  wholly  from  my  sin. 

6.  "  Deeper,  deeper  grow  the  shadows; 

Paler  now  the  glowing  west ; 
Swift  the  night  of  death  advances, — 

Shall  it  be  a  night  of  rest  ? 
Tarry  with  me,  O  my  Saviour ! 

Lay  my  head  upon  thy  breast. 

7.  "  Feeble,  trembling,  panting,  dying, 

Lord !  I  cast  myself  on  thee : 
Tarry  with  me  through  the  darkness, 

While  I  sleep,  still  watch  by  me, 
Till  the  morning, — then  awake  me, 

Dearest  Lord!  to  dwell  with  thee." 

It  was  abridged  for  the  "  Plymoutli  Collection,"  in  1856, 
and  for  the  "  Sabbath  Hymn  Book,"  in  1858.  In  the  form 
now  mostly  used,  it  first  appeared  in  the  "  Songs  of  the 
Church,"  1862. 


566  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

SAMUEL  FRANCIS  SMITH. 

1808 . 

Mk.  Smith  is  everywhere  kno^vn  in  his  native  land,  by 

the  hymn, 

"  My  country!  'tis  of  thee,"  etc., 

—probably  more  than  any  other  regarded  as  the  American 
National  Hymn. 

Prof.  Smith  was  born,  October  21, 1808,  at  Boston,  Mass. 
He  graduated,  at  Harvard  University,  in  1829.  Three  years 
were  spent  in  theological  study,  at  Andover  Theological 
Seminary,  terminating  in  1832.  While  at  Andover,  he 
wrote  several  of  his  popular  hymns,  to  which  he  was  urged 
by  Mr.  Lowell  Mason,  then  of  Boston.  He  also  contributed 
largely  to  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Americana,"  at  that  time  in 
process  of  publication.  He  edited  for  eighteen  months  the 
Baptist  Missioiiary  Magazine.  He  was  ordained,  Febru- 
ary 12, 1834,  as  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Wa- 
terville.  Me.,  where  he  remained  for  eight  years,  occupying 
at  the  same  time  the  Professorship  of  Modern  Languages 
in  Waterville  College  [Colby  University].  He  began  the 
year,  1842,  as  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  New- 
ton, Mass.  In  connection  with  his  pastorate,  he  edited,  for 
seven  years,  the  Christian  Remew,  a  Baptist  Quarterly 
published  at  Boston.  .  In  1854,  he  resigned  his  pastorate, 
and  devoted  himself,  in  connection  with  the  editorship  of 
the  publications  of  the  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union, 
to  literary  pursuits. 

His  contributions  to  the  Cliristlan  Remew  and  other  pe- 
riodicals have  been  many  and  valuable.  His  ^\Titings  are 
characterized  by  gracefulness  and  spirituality,  as  well  as 
accurate  thought.  In  1843,  he  edited,  with  the  Rev.  Baron 
Stow,  D.D.,  a  valuable  compilation  of  hjnnns,  called  "  The 
Psalmist,"  which  has  had  a  very  large  circulation  among 
the  Baptist  churches  of  America.     This  was  followed  by 


SAMUEL  FRANCIS  SMITH.  567 

the  "  Social  Psalmist,"  "  for  Conference  Meetings  and  Fam- 
ily Worship,"  1844.  "  The  Life  of  Rev.  Joseph  Grafton  " 
(1845)  was  from  his  pen.  He  edited,  also,  "  Lyric  Gems " 
(1844),  and  contributed  a  large  part  of  the  songs  in  the 
"  Juvenile  Lyre,"  edited  by  Mr.  Lowell  Mason. 

Among  the  hjTnns  that  he  ^vi'ote  at  Andover  Seminary  is 
to  be  numbered  the  lyric  that,  as  now  written,  begins  vdih 

"  To-day  the  Saviour  calls." 

It  was  suggested  by  the  casual  reading  of  a  line  in  Schil- 
ler's "  Maria  Stuart," — "  Schwarz  hangt  der  Himmel  iiber 
diesem  Land."  It  was  very  much  abridged  and  altered  by 
Mr.  Hastings,  who  published  the  reconstructed  form  in  his 
"  Spiritual  Songs." 

Dr.  Smith,  in  a  communication  to  the  author  of  this 
book,  says : 

"  '  My  country !  'tis  of  thee,' 

was  stimulated  into  being  by  a  collection  of  German  music 
books,  brought  to  this  country  by  Mr.  Woodbridge,  and 
handed  to  me  by  Mr.  Mason,  with  the  request  that  I  would 
adapt  any  of  the  pieces  that  struck  me  favorably  to  English 
words.  It  is  not  a  translation,  though  in  the  German  the 
words  were  patriotic.  It  was  first  sung  at  a  children's 
Fourth  of  July  celebration  in  Park  Street  Church,  Boston, 
in  1832  or  1833. 

'  Auspicious  morning  I  hail ! ' 

was  written  for  a  similar  celebration  in  Boston,  in  1841. 

'Spirit  of  peace  and  holiness,' 

was  written  for  the  installation  service  of  Baron  Stow,  D.D., 
as  pastor  of  Baldwin  Place  Church,  Boston,  in  November, 
1832. 

'  The  solemn  service  now  is  done,' 

(in  the  original  '  And  now  the  solemn  deed  is  done ')  was 


668  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

written  for  the  ordination  or  installation  of  some  friend,— 
I  have  forgotten  who  it  was. 

'Planted  in  Christ,  the  living  vine,' 

was  written  for  the  public  services  at  the  organization  of  a 
new  church  in  the  little  town  of  Boscawen,  N.  H." 

Prof.  Smith  was,  in  1853,  honored  with  the  degree  of 
D.D.,  by  Colby  University, 

The  following  beautiful  effusion  on  the  words,  "I  am 
now  ready  to  be  offered,"  is  from  his  pen : 

"Ready  now  to  spread  my  pinions, 
Glad  to  wing-  my  flight  away 
From  the  gloom  that  hovers  round  me, 
To  the  realms  of  endless  day. 

"  Eeady  to  be  freed  from  sorrow, 
Tears  and  partings,  toil  and  pain ; 
Eeady  for  the  heavenly  mansion ; 
Life  is  dear,  but  death  is  gain. 

"Eeady,  with  the  just  made  perfect, 
Clothed  in  robes  of  white  to  be ; 
Swelling  the  enraptured  chorus. 
Singing  joy  and  victory. 

"As  the  bird,  with  warbling  music,  * 

Soars  above  our  feeble  sight, 
Singing  still,  and  still  ascending, 
Melting  in  the  glorious  light, — 

"  So  the  dying  saint,  departing, 

Joyful  takes  his  heavenward  way ; 
Life  and  time  and  gladness  blending 
In  the  light  of  perfect  day." 


GAEL  JOHANN  PHILIPP  SPITTA.  569 

CARL  JOHANN  PHILIPP  SPITTA. 

1801-1859. 

The  Eev.  De.  Spitta  was  bom,  August  1, 1801,  of  par- 
ents in  humble  life,  at  Hanover,  Germany.  His  father  was 
of  French  descent,  and  died  when  the  son  was  in  his  fourth 
year.  The  training  of  the  boy  devolved  thus  on  the  mother, 
who  was  a  convert  from  Judaism.  Her  intention  to  send 
him  to  the  University  was  relinquished,  in  consequence 
of  an  illness  at  ten  years  of  age,  from  which  he  suffered 
four  years.  He  was  then  apprenticed  to  a  wat€h-maker  of 
the  town,  with  whom  he  continued  four  years,  diligent  and 
circumspect.  Even  then  he  addicted  himself  to  the  compo- 
sition of  hymns. 

A  younger  brother,  who  was  studying  for  the  ministry, 
was  drowned  in  1818,  and  his  mother  consented  to  the  de- 
sire of  Philipp  to  take  his  place.  After  a  preparatory  course 
of  six  months  at  home,  he  entered  the  highest  class  of  the 
school,  and,  in  1821,  the  University  of  Gottingen,  complet- 
ing his  curriculum  in  1824.  He  accepted  a  tutorship  for 
four  years  in  a  private  family  at  Lune,  near  Liineburg, 
where,  in  the  midst  of  congenial  religious  society,  he  wrote 
many  of  his  sweetest  hymns. 

In  1828,  he  entered  the  Lutheran  ministry  as  the  assistant 
pastor  of  Siidwalde,  Hanover.  Two  years  later,  he  received 
the  appointment  of  chaplain  to  the  prisoners  and  garri- 
son of  Hameln,  Hanover.  In  1833  he  published  his  "  "  Psal- 
tery and  Harp,"  containing  sixty-six  of  his  hymns.  The 
book  speedily  became  highly  popular  among  all  classes, 
notAvithstanding  the  vast  number  [250]  of  hymn-books  (con- 
taining 60,000  hymns)  already  in  circulation  among  the 
GeiTuan  people.  He  married,  October  4, 1837,  Joanna  Mary 
Magdalene  Hotzen,  and  immediately  took  charge  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  of  Wechold,  near  Hoya,  Hanover,  where 
he  labored,  happily  and  successfully,  about  ten  years.  In 
1843,  he  published  another  and  the  last  installment  [40]  of 


570  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Ms  hymns,  wMch,  also,  became  quite  popular.  In  1847,  he 
received  tlie  appointment  of  Ecclesiastical  Superintendent 
at  Wittingen,  and,  ^diile  thus  officiating,  published  a  number 
of  his  sermons.  He  was  next  (1853)  appointed  chief  pastor 
of  Peine,  in  the  county  of  Hildesheim,  and,  two  years  after, 
was  honored  by  his  University  with  the  degree  of  D.D. 
In  July,  1859,  he  was  preferred  to  the  church  at  Bargdorf, 
with  the  charge  of  a  large  district,  which  he  had  just  begun 
to  visit,  when  he  was  struck  down  with  gastric  fever,  fol- 
lowed by  cramp  of  the  heart,  which  suddenly  terminated 
his  valuable  life,  September  28, 1859. 

Of  his  eight  children,  one  died  an  infant.  With  his  two 
daughters  he  took  delight  in  singing,  every  evening,  his 
hymns  to  his  own  music,  with  such  effect  that  crowds  were 
wont  to  gather  under  his  windows  to  listen.  A  volume  of 
his  "  Posthumous  Sacred  Pieces "  was  published  shortly 
after  his  decease.  A  Translation  of  his  hymns  into  Eng- 
lish Verse  was  published  by  Richard  Massie,  in  two  Series 
(the  first  in  1859),  entitled, — "  Lyi^a  Domestica :  Christian 
Songs  for  Domestic  Edification,  translated  from  the  '  Psal- 
tery and  Harp '  of  Spitta." 


ANNE  STEELE. 

1716-1778. 

No  one  of  the  gentler  sex  has  so  largely  contributed  to 
the  familiar  hymnology  of  the  Church,  as  the  modest  and 
retiring,  but  gifted  and  godly,  Anne  Steele.  She  may  well 
be  styled  the  female  "Poet  of  the  Sanctuary."  Watts, 
Doddridge,  and  Wesley,  with  a  few  others  of  the  sterner 
sex,  had  sung  well  and  effectively.  But  a  voice,  more 
tender  and  delicate,  giving  utterance  to  the  pensive,  yearn- 
ing, and  glowing  emotions  characteristic  of  the  sisterhood 
of  believers,  was  needed  to  perfect  the  hannony  of  public 


ANNE  STEELE.  571 

praise.  That  voice  was  trained  among  the  hills  of  Hamp- 
shire, in  a  picturesque  hamlet,  some  fifteen  miles  only  to 
the  northwest  of  Southampton,  the  birthplace  of  Isaac 
Watts. 

Anne  Steele  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Rev.  William 
Steele,  a  gentleman  of  property  by  inheritance,  and  a  lum- 
ber-mercliant,  who  ministered,  for  sixty  years,  to  the  Bap- 
tist congregation,  at  Broughton,  Hampshire,  as  their  pastor, 
without  salary, — "a  man  of  primitive  piety,  the  strictest 
integrity  and  benevolence,  and  the  most  amiable  simplicity 
of  manners."  She  was  born,  in  1716,  at  Broiighton,  in  the 
midst  of  scenery  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  poetic 
taste,  where  she  continued  to  reside  to  the  end  of  life.  At 
an  early  age,  she  began  to  cultivate  the  poetic  gift,  and 
wrote,  in  her  youth,  a  considerable  number  of  hymns. 
She  became  a  member  of  her  father's  church,  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  and,  for  nearly  half  a  century,  continued  to 
adorn  her  profession, 

"  Li  all  the  cares  of  life  and  love." 

Her  affections  were  given,  and  her  hand  pledged,  in  early 
life,  to  a  young  man,  named  Elscourt.  On  the  day  preced- 
ing the  date  of  their  anticipated  marriage,  he  had  gone  to 
the  neighboring  river  for  the  purpose  of  bathing,  and,  get- 
ting beyond  his  depth,  was  drowned.  Heart-broken  at  her 
grievous  loss,  she  cherished  his  memory  through  life,  and 
entertained  no  similar  proposals  from  any  other  person. 
She  gave  her  days  to  works  of  piety  and  benevolence,  dif- 
fusing throughout  her  neighborhood  the  sweet  savor  of 
godliness,  and  attaching  to  herself,  and  more  to  her  Sav- 
iour, the  hearts  of  the  sick,  the  sorrowing,  and  the  needy. 

The  hours  of  lier  sorrow  were  often  relieved  by  the  com- 
position of  a  hymn,  expressive  of  her  own  spiritual  condi- 
tion and  aspirations.  At  the  earnest  and  repeated  solicita- 
tion of  admiring  and  grateful  friends,  she  yielded  a  reluc- 
tant consent  to  the  publication  of  her  "  Poems,  on  Subjects 
chiefly  Devotional,"  in  two  volumes  (1760\  under  the  as- 
sumed name  of  "Theodosia."    Her  venerable  father,  over 


572  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

whom,  in  liis  declining  years,  slie  had  long  watched  with 
all  a  loving  daughter's  interest,  tenderness,  and  anxiety, 
was  taken  from  her  by  death,  September  10,  1769.  She 
had,  in  childhood,  received  an  injury,  from  which  she  had 
never  fully  recovered.  In  her  later  years,  she  was,  in  con- 
sequence, a  great  sufferer.  For  years,  she  was  confined  to 
her  house,  and  much  of  the  time  to  the  couch  of  racking 
pain,  all  of  which  she  endured  with  the  utmost  resignation 
and  the  sweetest  patience.  Her  father's  decease  hastened 
her  own,  and  she  departed  this  life  in  November,  1778,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-one. 

The  two  volumes  of  her  Poems,  and  a  third  prepared  for 
the  press  by  her  own  hand,  with  a  brief  sketch  of  the  au- 
thor, were  republished  in  1780,  by  her  admiring  friend,  the 
Eev.  Caleb  Evans,  D.D.,  of  Bristol,  England.  Nearly  all 
her  hymns,  with  much  abridgment  in  some  cases,  have  been 
appropriated  to  the  service  of  the  sanctuary  or  the  family. 
One  hundred  and  more  of  her  productions  are  found  in  our 
modern  Compilations.  The  following  stanzas  are  from  a 
hymn  on  "Christ,  the  Christian's  Life": 

"  Oh !  for  the  animating  fire 
That  tuned  harmonious  Watts'  lyre 

To  sweet  seraphic  strains ! — 
Celestial  fire,  that  hore  his  mind 
(Earth's  vain  amusements  left  behind) 

To  yonder  bUssf  ul  plains. 

"  There  Jesus  lives — transporting  name! — 
Jesus  inspired  the  sacred  flame, 

And  gave  devotion  wings ; 
With  heaven-attracted  flight  she  soared. 
The  realms  of  happiness  explored, 
And  smiled,  and  pitied  kings. 

"  Come,  sacred  flame!  and  warm  my  heart, 
Thy  animating  power  impart 

Sweet  dawn  of  life  divine ! 
Jesus !  thy  love  alone  can  give 
The  power  to  rise,  the  power  to  live ; 

Eternal  life  is  thine. 


JOSEPH  STENNETT.  573 

Oh !  come,  thou  life  of  every  grace ! 
Keveal,  reveal  thy  lovely  face, 

These  gloomy  clouds  remove. 
And  bid  my  fainting  hope  arise 
To  thy  fair  mansions  m  the  skies, 

On  wings  of  faith  and  love." 


JOSEPH  STENNETT. 

1663-1713. 

In  Dr.  Watts'  "Remnants  of  Time  employed  in  Prose 
and  Verse,"  is  included  tlie  sublime  hymn,  beginning  with 

"  The  mighty  frame  of  glorious  grace," 

of  which,  in  a  marginal  note,  he  says :  "  In  this  ode,  there 
are  three  or  four  lines  taken  from  Mr.  Stennett's '  Sacramen- 
tal Hymns';  for,  when  I  found  they  expressed  my  thought 
and  design  in  proper  and  beautiful  language,  I  chose  rath- 
er to  borrow,  and  to  acknowledge  the  debt,  than  to  labor 
hard  for  worse  lines,  that  I  might  have  the  poor  pleasure 
of  calling  them  my  own,"  The  lines  thus  borrowed  are 
found  in  the  37th  of  the  "  Sacramental  Hymns,"  of  which 
the  7th  and  11th  stanzas  are  as  follows : 

"  He,  that  distributes  crowns  and  thrones. 
Hangs  on  a  tree,  and  bleeds,  and  groans : 
He  on  a  cross  resigns  his  breath, 
Who  keeps  the  keys  of  hell  and  death. 

"  Thus  sin,  death,  and  the  powers  of  hell. 
Conquered,  disarmed,  and  wounded  fell : 
He  mounted  then  his  throne  above. 
And  conquers  sinners  by  his  love." 

Of  these  eight  lines,  the  first  two  and  the  eighth  Watts 
adopted  mrhatim;  while  the  third  and  fourth  were  adopt- 


574  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

ed  for  substance.  The  book,  from  wliicli  these  lines  were 
borrowed,  was  first  issued  in  1697,  with  the  title, — "  Hymns 
in  Commemoration  of  the  Sufferings  of  our  Blessed  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  composed  for  the  Celebration  of  his  Holy 
Supper."  Watts,  at  this  time,  had  published  nothing; 
and,  doubtless,  with  his  great  propensity  to  verse-making, 
made  himself  familiar  with  this  humble  volume  from  the 
very  year  of  its  publication.  Stennett,  therefore,  was  proba- 
bly one  of  Watts'  models,  as  well  as  his  pioneer. 

Joseph  Stennett  was  a  native  of  Abingdon,  on  the  edge 
of  Berkshire,  six  miles  south  of  the  city  of  Oxford.  His 
father,  Edward,  was  from  a  respectable  stock  in  Lincoln- 
shire ;  and  his  mother,  Mary  Quelcli,  was  of  a  reputable 
family  in  Oxford.  The  father,  at  an  early  age,  entered  the 
Dissenting  ministry,  and  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Parlia- 
ment and  Commonwealth.  At  the  Kestoration,  in  common 
vdth  the  Nonconformists,  he  was  subjected  to  many  dis- 
abilities, privations,  and  persecutions,  having,  for  a  time, 
been  imprisoned  for  conscience'  sake.  He  removed  to  Wal- 
lingford,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  the  Castle,  where  he  ex- 
ercised his  ministry — supporting  his  family  by  the  practice 
of  medicine.  He  was  thus  enabled  to  give  his  childi-en  a 
liberal  education.  His  three  sons,  Jehudah,  Joseph,  and 
Benjamin — the  eldest,  a  physician,  and  the  other  two,  min- 
isters— were  all  distinguished  for  their  learning ;  as  was, 
also,  his  daughter,  Mrs.  William  Morton,  of  Knaphill, 
Buckinghamshire.     The  father  died  in  1689. 

Joseph  was  born  in  1663,  and  spent  his  youth  in  Wal- 
lingford.  Under  the  instruction  of  his  godly  parents,  he 
early  became  pious,  and  connected  himself  with  his  father's 
church.  He  received  as  good  an  education  as  the  public 
school  at  Wallingford  could  confer,  and  then,  with  a  view 
to  the  ministry,  perfected  himself  as  much  as  possible  in 
the  Hebrew  and  other  oriental,  as  well  as  in  the  French 
and  Italian,  languages.  In  the  liberal  sciences  and  philos- 
ophy, also,  he  became  proficient ;  but  most  in  theology, 
both  ancient  and  modem. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  accepted  an  appointment 


JOSEPH  STENNETT.  575 

as  a  teacher  in  London,  and  continued  in  this  employment 
for  five  years,  taking  an  active  part  in  the  exciting  conflicts 
resulting  in  the  Revolution  of  1688.  At  tliis  date,  he  mar- 
ried Susanna,  the  daughter  of  George  Gill,  a  French  emi- 
grant of  1682,  and  a  gentleman  of  the  Privy  Chamber  to 
Charles  II.,  whose  estate,  in  1685  (the  era  of  the  Revocation 
of  the  Edict  of  Nantes),  had  been  confiscated.  Mr.  Gill 
was  a  successful  merchant,  and  his  elder  daughter  had  mar- 
ried the  well-known  Rev.  Dr.  Daniel  Williams.  Soon  after, 
Mr.  Stennett  was  persuaded  to  exercise  his  preaching  gifts 
as  an  evening  lecturer  at  a  hall  in  Devonshire  Square — the 
church  (Sabbatarian  Baptist)  of  which  his  father  had  been 
for  a  short  time  pastor,  then  worshipping  in  that  place. 
He  was  ordained  their  pastor,  March  4,  1690.  The  congre- 
gation soon  after  removed  to  Pinners'  Hall,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  exercise  his  ministry  until  his  death, — preaching 
to  his  own  people  on  the  seventh  day,  and  elsewhere,  al- 
most invariably,  on  the  first  day  of  the  week. 

Mr.  Stennett  was  held  in  high  esteem  outside  of  his  own 
denomination,  being  universally  regarded  as  a  truly  pious 
and  learned  divine,  an  accomplished  scholar,  a  genuine  poet, 
and  an  exceedingly  amiable  gentleman.  He  numbered, 
among  his  personal  friends,  Mr.  Nahum  Tate,  the  poet- 
laureate,  who  said  of  him :  "  He  has  the  happiness  to  be 
a  good  poet,  \vithout  being  a  slave  to  the  Muses."  Prefer- 
ment awaited  him  in  the  Church  of  England,  in  case  he 
would  overcome  his  scruples  against  Conformity.  Arch- 
bishop Sharp  expressed  a  high  opinion  of  him,  as  a  divine, 
a  poet,  and  a  scholar.  His  "  Version  of  Solomon's  Song  of 
Songs,"  in  verse  (1700),  as  well  as  his  "  Sacramental 
Hymns "  (1697),  was  received  with  much  favor.  His  pen 
was  ever  ready  for  the  defence  of  his  princii^les,  and  he 
published  several  brief  works  of  the  kind,  particularly  a 
reply  (1704)  to  David  Russen's  "  Fundamentals  without  a 
Foundation." 

His  health  having  seriously  declined,  he  was  induced 
(1713)  to  remove  to  the  residence  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Mor- 
ton, at  Knaphill,  but  it  was  too  late.     He  continued  to  fail, 


576  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

until,  in  the  full  exercise  of  Ms  faculties,  lie  departed  this 
life,  July  11, 1713,— his  widow  and  four  children  surviving 
him.  His  remains  were  interred  in  the  church-yard  of 
Hitchenden,  Buckinghamshire,  \\dth  a  Latin  epitaph,  writ- 
ten by  Dr.  Ward,  of  Gresham  CoUege,  engraved  on  his 
tombstone. 

John  Dunton  speaks  of 

"  Stennett,  the  patron  and  the  rule  of  wit, 
The  pulpit's  honor,  and  the  saints'  dehght," 

His  "Works"  were  published  (1732)  in  four  volumes, 
not  including  his  "Answer  to  Mr.  Russen's  Book  upon 
Baptism."    His  Sabbath  hymn, 

"Another  six  days'  work  is  done,"  etc., 

by  which  he  is  now  chiefly  known,  contains,  in  the  original 
form,  fourteen  stanzas ;  of  which  the  1st,  10th,  11th,  and 
13th  only  are  generally  retained.  The  hymn,  as  now  in 
use,  is  taken  from  Toplady's  Collection  (1776),  who  prob- 
ably composed  the  second  stanza.  The  following  lines  are 
from  "  An  Hymn  "  of  nine  stanzas  : 

"  Awake,  my  mind!  awake,  my  song! 
Awake,  my  heart !  awake,  my  tongue ! 
Join,  with  the  grateful,  praising  throng. 

In  offerings  to  our  common  Lord ; 
Wherever  fleeting  winds  can  blow. 
Wherever  swelling  waves  can  flow, 
Wliere  beasts  can  rove,  or  plants  can  grow, 

All  creatures  praise  his  name  with  one  accord. 

"  That  I  may  sing  without  control. 
To  touch  my  lip,  to  touch  my  soul. 
Lord  I  from  the  altar,  send  a  coal, 

On  which  my  dear  Redeemer  bled ; 
The  flame  of  so  divine  a  love, 
Too  firm  for  life  or  death  to  move. 
Will  the  best  light  and  motive  prove, 

To  warm  my  heart,  and  to  inform  my  head. 


SAMUEL  STENNETT.  577 

"  So  shall  my  thouglits,  so  shall  my  songs, 
In  concert  with  seraphic  throngs, 
Rehearse  what  praise  to  thee  belongs. 

With  highest  love  and  pui-est  joy ; 
Till,  soaring  far  from  mortal  eye, 
I  quit  this  earth  and  pierce  the  sky. 
Then  to  thy  radiant  throne  di'aw  nigh, 

And  all  eternity  in  praise  employ." 


SAMUEL  STENNETT. 
1727-1795. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Stennett,  though  not  a  supe- 
rior poet,  wrote  some  of  the  most  useful  and  familiar 
hymns  in  the  English  language.  Thirty-nine  of  his 
hymns  are  found  in  Dr.  Rippon's  Selection  (1787),  for 
which  the  most  of  them  were  probably  written. 

He  was  the  great-grandson  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Stennett, 
of  Wallingford,  England.  His  father  and  grandfather, 
both  of  them  named  Joseph,  were  also  ministers  of  distin- 
guished excellence.  [See  the  preceding  Sketch.]  His  father 
was,  for  many  years,  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  of 
Exeter,  where  the  son  was  born  in  1727,  and  where  the  iirst 
ten  years  of  his  life  were  spent.  In  1737,  his  father  removed 
to  London,  having  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church  worshipping  in  Little  Wild  Street,  in  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood  of  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields.  Here  the  son 
enjoyed  the  very  best  instruction  in  learning  under  the  tui- 
tion, at  first,  of  the  Rev.  John  Hubbard,  Theological  Tutor 
at  Stepney,  and  then  of  the  distinguished  linguist,  Dr. 
John  AValker,  of  the  Mile  End  Academy.  Being  of  schol- 
arly lineage,  he  himself  became  a  proficient  in  the  sacred 
languages  and  literature. 

At  an  early  age,  he  was  received  into  the  fellowship  of 
his  father's  church,  and,  in  1747,  became  his  assistant  in  the 
37 


578  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

ministry.  After  his  father's  decease,  he  was  ordained,  June 
1,  1758,  as  the  pastor  of  the  churjch,  and  continued  in  this 
position  to  the  end  of  life.  He  received,  also,  a  call,  in 
1767,  to  be  the  pastor  of  the  Sabbatarian  Baptist  Church 
(Pinners'  HaU),  of  which  his  grandfather  had  been  pastor. 
Though  he  never  formally  accepted  the  call,  he  performed 
the  duties  of  a  pastor,  and  preached  for  them  regularly 
every  Saturday  morning  for  twenty  years,  in  addition  to 
the  i)erformance  of  his  duties  as  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Little  Wild  Street. 

In  1769,  he  published  two  volumes  of  "Discourses  on 
Personal  Religion,"  containing  a  systematic  exhibition  of 
Practical  Theology  and  Experimental  Piety ;  in  1783, 
"Discourses  on  Domestic  Duties";  in  1786,  "Discourses 
on  the  Parable  of  the  Sower";  and,  in  1790,  "Discourses 
on  the  Divine  Authority  and  Various  Uses  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures."  He  employed  his  pen,  also,  in  defence  of  his 
Baptist  views,  in  reply  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stephen  Addington. 
His  "  Remarks  on  the  Christian  Minister's  Reasons  for  Ad- 
ministering Baptism  by  Sprinkling  or  Pouring  of  Water," 
appeared  in  1772  ;  and,  in  1775,  he  published  "  An  Answer 
to  the  Christian  Minister's  Reasons  for  Baptizing  Infants, 
in  a  Series  of  Letters."  He  published,  also,  at  different 
times,  twelve  Occasional  Sermons.  He  excelled  in  beauty 
of  style  and  elegance  of  diction.  "  In  soft,  tender,  and  in- 
sinuating persuasion  and  influence,"  it  is  said,  "  he  was  fi 
master."  He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  in 
1763,  from  King's  College,  Aberdeen. 

He  associated  with  some  of  the  best  society  of  the  me- 
tropolis, by  whom  he  was  held  in  high  estimation  as  a 
scholar,  a  divine,  and  a  true  gentleman.  It  is  said  that  he 
enjoyed  the  personal  friendship  of  his  sovereign,  George 
III.,  and  that  preferment  in  the  Clir.rch  of  England  was  at 
his  service.  Obliging  and  kind  in  disposition,  exemplary 
in  morals  and  piety,  he  made  friends  everywhere.  On  the 
16th  of  March,  1795,  he  was  dej)rived  of  the  wife  of  his 
youth.  The  blow  proved  too  much  for  his  infirm  constitu- 
tion, and  he  sank  under  it, — surviving  her  loss  only  a  few 


SAMUEL  STENNETT.  579 

montlis.  He  died — in  joyful  anticipation  of  tlie  blissful 
world  of  which,  lie  had  so  sweetly  sung,  in  his  own  well- 
known  hymn, 

"  On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand,"  etc., 

— at  the  rural  retreat,  that,  for  several  years,  he  had  occu- 
pied, near  Highgate,  breathing  his  last,  August  25,  1795,  in 
his  sixty-eighth  year.  His  "  Works,"  with  an  "  Account  of 
his  Life  and  Writings "  by  W.  Jones,  were  published  in 
1824,  in  three  volumes. 

One  of  his  best  hymns  is  the  first  in  Rippon's  Selec- 
tion: 

"  To  God,  the  universal  King, 
Let  all  mankind  theii'  tribute  bring ; 
All  that  have  breath !  your  voices  raise, 
Li  songs  of  never-ceasing  praise. 

"  The  spacious  earth  on  which  we  tread. 
And  wider  heavens  stretched  o'er  our  head, 
A  large  and  solemn  temple  frame. 
To  celebrate  its  Builder's  fame. 

"  Here  the  bright  sun,  that  rules  the  day, 
As  through  the  sky  he  makes  his  way, 
To  all  the  world  proclaims  aloud 
The  boundless  sovereignty  of  God. 

"  When  from  his  courts  the  sun  retbes. 
And  with  the  day  his  voice  expires. 
The  moon  and  stai-s  adopt  the  song. 
And  through  the  night  the  praise  prolong. 

"  The  listening  eai^  with  rapture  hears 
Th'  harmonious  music  of  the  spheres ;  ^ 

And  all  her  tribes  the  notes  repeat, 
That  God  is  wise,  and  good,  and  great. 

"  But  man,  endowed  with  nobler  powers. 
His  God  in  nobler  strains  adores ; 
His  is  the  gift  to  know  the  song, 
As  well  as  sing  with  tuneful  tongue." 


580  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

THOMAS   STERNHOLD. 

1549. 

« 

"  Steniliold  and  Hopkins  "  are  familiar  words  to  tlie  lov- 
ers of  sacred  song.  They  were  tlie  pioneers  of  the  great 
host  of  congregational  Psalm-singers  of  Great  Britain,  and 
greatly  helped  to  make  "the  service  of  song"  the  rule,  and 
not  the  exception,  in  the  worship  of  God.  Their  versions 
of  the  Psalms  of  David,  bound  up  with  the  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer,  from  the  year  1562,  furnished  the  people  with 
the  needful  aids  in  this  service. 

Thomas  Sternhold  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Awre, 
near  Blakeney,  Gloucestershire,  England,  and  was  born  at 
Hayfield,  the  ancestral  estate  of  the  family.  Of  the  date 
of  his  birth,  and  the  particulars  of  his  early  life  and  school- 
boy days,  nothing  definite  is  known.  Anthony  Wood,  in 
his  "Athense  Oxonienses"  (1691),  says  of  him:  "Whether 
educated  in  Wykeham's  School,  near  Winchester,  is  as  yet 
doubtful.  Sure  it  is,  that  he,  having  spent  some  time  in 
this  University,  left  it  without  the  honor  of  a  Degree,  and 
retiring  to  the  Court  of  K.  Hen.  8,  was  made  Groom  of  the 
Robes  to  him ;  and,  when  that  King  died,  he  left  him  in 
his  Will  100  Marke.  Afterwards  he  continued  in  that 
Ofiice  under  K.  Ed.  6,  at  which  time  he  was  in  some  es- 
teem in  the  Royal  Court  for  his  vein  in  Poetry,  and  other 
trivial  Learning.  But  being  a  most  zealous  Reformer,  and 
a  very  strict  liver,  he  became  so  scandaliz'd  at  the  amor- 
ous and  obscene  Songs  used  in  the  Court,  that  he  forsooth 
turn'd  into  English  Metre  51  of  David's  Psalms,  and  caused 
Musical  Notes  to  be  set  to  them,  thinking  thereby  that  the 
Courtiers  would  sing  them  instead  of  their  Sonnets,  but 
did  not,  only  some  few  excepted.  However,  the  Poetry 
and  Music  being  admirable,  and  the  best  that  was  made 
and  composed  in  those  times,  they  were  thought  fit  after- 
wards to  be  sung  in  all  Parochial  Churches,  as  they  do  yet 
continue." 


THOMAS  STEENHOLD.  581 

Wood  further  says :  "  What  other  Poetry,  or  what  Prose 
this  our  Poet  Sternhold  hath  composed,  and  left  behind,  I 
know  not,  nor  any  thing  else  of  him,  only  that  he  died  in 
London  or  Westminster,  in  fifteen  hundred  forty  and  nine. 
By  his  last  Will  and  Testament,  dated  22  Aug.  and  proved 
12  Sept.  an.  1549,  wherein  he  is  stiled  Groom  of  the  King's 
Majesty's  Robes,  it  appears  that  he  died  seized  of  Lands  in 
Slackstead  in  Hampsire,  of  the  Farms  of  Conynger,  Wil- 
lersley,  and  Holgreaves  in  the  same  County,  and  of  Lands 
in  the  Parish  of  Bodmin,  and  elsewhere  in  Cornwall." 

This  comprises  about  all  that  is  known  personally  of  this 
worthy  old  Reformer.  Hopkins  was  his  townsman,  and 
associate  from  childhood.  He,  with  others,  completed  what 
Sternhold  began.  The  year  before  he  died,  Sternhold  pub- 
lished a  version  of  nineteen  of  the  Psalms,  with  the  title, — 
"Certayne  Psalmes  chosen  out  of  the  Psalter  of  David, 
and  drawen  into  English  Metre  by  Thomas  Sternhold, 
Grome  of  ye  Kynges  Maiesties  Robes."  At  the  end  of  the 
year  1549,  was  published, — "  All  such  Psalmes  of  David  as 
Thomas  Sternehold,  late  Groome  of  ye  Kinges  Maiesties 
Robes,  didde  in  his  Lifetime  draw  into  English  Metre." 
The  book  contained  37  psalms ;  but  Wood  credits  him 
with  51  translations.  In  1562,  the  Versions  of  all  the 
Psalms  were  published  with  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
and  called,—"  The  Whole  Booke  of  Psalmes  collected  into 
English  Meetre  by  T.  Sternhold,  J.  Hopkins,  and  others, 
conferred  with  the  Ebrue,  with  apt  notes  to  sing  them  with- 
all. — Set  forth  and  allowed  to  be  sung  in  all  churches, 
of  all  the  people  together  before  and  after  Morning  and 
Evening  praier ;  as  also  before  and  after  sermons  and 
moreover  in  private  houses,  for  their  godlie  solace  and 
comfort,  laieng  apart  all  ungodlie  songs,  and  balades, 
which  tend  onelie  to  the  nourishing  of  vice  and  corrupting 
of  youth." 

''  Certaine  Chapters  of  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  di-awn 
into  Metre,"  sometimes  ascribed  to  Sternhold,  is  said,  by 
Lowndes,  to  be  "  untruely  "  printed  under  his  name.  The 
wonderful  success  of  Sternhold  and  his  coadjutors  in  the 


S82  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

work  of  reform,  and  the  particular  influence  of  the  prac- 
tice of  psalm-singing  introduced  by  them,  are  graphically 
described  by  the  godly  Bishop  Jewel,  in  a  part  of  a  Latin 
letter,  written  March  5, 1560,  at  London  ("  Works,"  Parker 
Society  Edition,  IV.,  1230),  of  which  the  following  is  an 
accurate  translation : 

"  Religion  is  now  somewhat  more  established  than  it 
was.  The  people  are  every  where  exceedingly  inclined  to 
the  better  part.  Ecclesiastical  and  popular  music  has  very 
greatly  helped  it  on.  For,  as  soon  as  they  had  once  com- 
menced singing  in  public,  in  only  one  little  church  in  Lon- 
don, immediately  not  only  the  neighboring  churches,  but 
even  far-distant  cities,  began  to  vie  with  each  other  in  the 
same  practice.  You  may  now  sometimes  see  at  Paul's 
Cross,  after  the  sermon,  six  thousand  persons,  old  men, 
boys,  girls,  singing  and  praising  God  together.  This  sadly 
annoys  the  mass-priests  [sacrificos]  and  the  devil.  For 
they  perceive  that  by  these  means  the  sacred  discourses 
sink  more  deeply  into  the  minds  of  men,  and  that  their 
Idngdom  is  weakened  and  shaken  at  almost  every  note." 

One  of  the  Psalms  then  sung,  doubtless,  was  Sternhold's 
23d: 

"  My  Shepherd  is  the  living  Lord,  nothing  therefore  I  need; 
In  pastures  fair,  "with  "waters  calm,  he  sets  me  forth,  to  feed ; 
He  did  convert  and  glad  my  soul,  and  brought  my  mind  in  frame, 
To  "walk  in  paths  of  righteousness  for  his  most  holy  name. 
Yea,  though  I  "walk  in  vale  of  death,  yet  will  I  fear  none  ill, 
Thy  rod,  thy  staflP,  dothi  comfort  me,  and  thou  art  "with  me  still. 
And,  in  the  presence  of  my  foes,  my  table  thou  hast  spread ; 
Thou  shalt,  O  Lord !  fill  full  my  cup,  and  eke  anoint  my  head. 
Through  all  my  life,  thy  favor  is  so  frankly  she"wed  to  me, 
That  in  thy  house,  for  evermore,  mj  dwelling-place  shall  be." 


JOHN  STOCKER.  583 


JOHN  STOCKER. 


Diligent  researclies,  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Daniel  Sedgwick, 
the  veteran  hymnologist  of  London,  and  others,  have  failed 
to  elicit  anything  relative  to  the  personal  history  of  John 
Stocker.  He  is  known  only  as  a  contributor  of  originid. 
hymns  to  the  Gospel  Magazine,  of  London.  In  the  March 
Number  for  1776— in  which,  also,  first  appeared  Toplady's 
"  Rock  of  Ages  "—was  published  Stocker's  hymn,  in  nine 
stanzas,  beginning 

"  Thy  mercy,  my  God!  is  the  theme  of  my  song," 

with  the  heading,—"  I  will  sing  of  the  Mercy  of  the  Lord 
for  ever. — Psalm  Ixxxix. "  Tlie  hymn  is  subscribed, "  J.  S. " 
Another  hymn,  signed  "  J.  Stocker,"  appeared  in  the  Octo- 
ber Number  for  the  same  year. 

Four  more  of  his  hjTuns  appeared  in  the  May  Number 
for  1777,  and  three  in  the  July  Number  for  the  same  year. 
Among  the  latter,  is  found  his 

"  Gracious  Spirit !  Dove  divine ! "  etc., 

inscribed  "To  God  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  contains  six 
stanzas.  These  nine  hymns  are  his  only  memorial.  It 
is  said  that  he  resided  at  Honiton,  on  the  Otter,  Devon- 
shire, England.  It  is  conjectured  that  he  was  a  friend  of 
Toplady,  who  had  been  settled,  several  years,  at  New  Ot- 
tery  and  Broad  Hembury,  both  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  Honiton,  and  who,  in  1776,  had  become  the 
Editor  of  the  Gospel  Magazine,  at  London.  The  first  of 
these  hymns,  complete,  was  included  in  Toplady's  Collec- 
tion, the  same  year  (1776).  One  of  the  three  hymns  pub- 
lished in  July,  1777  (vTitten,  possibly,  just  before  his  de- 
cease), was  entitled,  "  The  Departing  Believer."  Of  its  ten 
stanzas,  the  last  five  are  subjoined  : 

' '  Adieu,  my  friends !  adieu,  my  foes ! 
I  bid  you  all  farewell ; 


584:  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

My  soul  by  faith  her  Saviour  knows, 
And  flies  with  him  to  dwell. 

"  His  hand  shall  guide  me  safe  through  death; 
His  angels  shall  convey 
My  soul  to  paradise,  from  earth, 
Triumphantly  away. 

*'  Happy  the  soul  that  knows  his  power, 
The  heart  that  feels  his  love ; 
Glad  shall  my  ransomed  spirit  soar 
To  richer  joys  above. 

"  Let  every  saint,  and  every  friend, 
Rejoice  and  sing  with  me, 
While  I  on  angels'  wings  ascend 
My  Saviour's  face  to  see. 

"  And,  as  I  mount,  I'll  louder  sing 
Salvation  through  the  skies, 
And  make  the  stany  concave  ring 
With  praises  as  I  rise." 


HUGH  STOWELL. 

1799-1865. 

The  hymn  beginning 

"From  every  stormy  wind  that  blows," 

is  one  of  the  sweetest  in  the  English  language,  and  is  a 
great  favorite  with  devout  people  everywhere  in  Great  Brit- 
ain and  America.  Its  author  held  a  high  place  among  the 
scholars  and  divines  of  the  Church  of  England.  Canon 
Stowell  was  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  his  father,  at  the 
time  of  his  birth,  being  the  Rector  of  Ballaugh,  near  Ram- 
sey. He  was  born  at  Douglas,  December  3,  1799.  Edu- 
cated for  the  church,  he  entered  St.  Edmund's  Hall,  Oxford, 


HUGH  STOWELL.  685 

in  1818,  and  graduated  in  1822.  He  took  deacon's  orders 
in  1823,  and  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood,  October  3, 
1824,  by  the  Bishop  of  Chester. 

He  served  as  Curate,  lirst  at  Shapscombe,  Gloucester- 
shire, and  then,  for  two  years,  at  Huddersfield,  when  he 
accepted  the  Chapelry  of  St.  Stephen's,  Salford,  over  the 
river  from  Manchester.  He  married,  in  1828,  Anne  Susan- 
nah, the  eldest  daughter  of  R.  Ash  worth,  Esq.,  of  Pendle- 
ton. His  ministry  was  very  successful,  and  his  preaching 
so  attractive  that  a  large  and  beautiful  building,  called 
Christ  Church,  was  erected  for  him  by  subscription,  in 
which  he  gathered  an  overflowing  congregation.  In  1845, 
he  was  appointed  Canon  of  Chester ;  in  1851,  Chaplain  to 
the  Bishop  of  Manchester ;  and  subsequently  Rural  Dean 
of  Salford.  His  sympathies  were  with  the  Evangelical 
party  in  the  church,  and  he  was  a  staunch  friend  and  sup- 
porter of  the  Bible,  Tract,  Missionary,  and  other  religious 
and  benevolent  Societies  of  the  day.     His  hymn  beginning 

with 

"  Lord  of  all  power  and  might," 

was  written  for  the  Jubilee  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bi- 
ble Society,  in  1854. 

His  publications  were  numerous  and  valuable.  The 
most  important  of  them  were :  "  A  Collection  of  Psalms 
and  Hymns,  suited  to  the  Services  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land "  (1831) ;  "  Miscellaneous  Sermons  "  (1837) ;  "  Tracta- 
rianism  Tested  by  Scripture "  (1843) ;  "  Memoirs  of  Mrs. 
StoweU "  (1851) ;  "  Nehemiah,  a  Model  for  Men  of  Busi- 
ness :  Lectures  "  (1854) ;  and  "  Lectures  on  Christianity  in 
the  Business  of  Life  "  (1858).  In  verse,  he  published :  "  The 
Pleasures  of  Religion,  and  other  Poems  "  (1832) ;  "  Confes- 
sion and  other  Poems";  and  "  The  Day  of  Rest  and  other 
Poems."  Besides  several  Tracts,  some  of  them  of  large  cir- 
culation, pamphlets,  and  occasional  sermons,  he  contributed 
to  several  religious  serials. 

He  died,  October  8, 1865.  Several  of  his  Sermons  were 
published  after  his  decease,  as  also,  forty-six  of  his  hymns. 
"  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Labors  of  the  Rev.  Hugh  Stow. 


586  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ell,"  by  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Marsden,  appeared  in  1868.  His 
hymn  on  "  Peace  at  the  Mercy  Seat "  was  contributed,  in 
1827,  to  The  Winter's  Wreath,  from  which  it  was  copied 
into  the  February  Number  of  Littell's  Religious  Magazine, 
for  1828,  Phila.  It  was  reproduced  by  its  author  (1832)  in 
his  "  Pleasures  of  Religion  and  other  Poems."  The  follow- 
ing is  his  children's  hymn  (second  and  third  stanzas  omit- 
ted), on  "  The  Day  of  Rest ": 

"  Hail !  hallowed  day  of  heavenly  rest, 
To  man  in  Eden  given, — 
The  day  which  the  Creator  hlessed, 
A  type  and  pledge  of  heaven ! 

"And  now  a  richer  light  is  shed 
On  thee,  sweet  day  of  grace ! 
Creation  hides  her  lowly  head, 
Before  redemption's  face. 

"  We  little  children  hail  the  day, 

Which  breathes  of  peace  and  love, 
Which  bids  our  toils  and  cares  away. 
And  tells  of  rest  above. 

"We  love  the  soothing  Sabbath-bell; 
We  love  the  house  of  prayer ; 
Sweet  thoughts  and  hopes  within  us  swell, 
Whilst  we  are  gathered  there. 

"Lord !  for  thy  day  we  bless  thy  name; 
Thy  law  has  made  it  sure. 
It  stands  from  age  to  age  the  same, 
The  birthright  of  the  poor. 

"  Oh!  may  these  first-fruits  of  our  time. 
These  Sabbath-seasons,  be 
Bright  steps  up  which  our  souls  may  climb, 
Till  they  are  safe  in  thee." 


NATHAN  STEONG.  587 

NATHAN  STRONG. 
1748-1816. 

De.  Steong  was  a  man  of  great  energy,  and  of  com- 
manding influence.  His  father,  the  Rev.  Nathan  Strong, 
D.D.,  was  born  at  Woodbury,  graduated  at  Yale  College 
in  1742,  and  became,  in  1745,  the  pastor  of  the  Second  Con- 
gregational Church  of  Coventry,  Conn.,  where  he  died,  Oc- 
tober 19, 1793.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  Coventry,  and 
the  daughter  of  the  Rev,  Joseph  Meacham,  who  was  the 
pastor  of  the  First  Church  of  the  town. 

He  was  born  at  Coventry,  October  16, 1748.  Educated,  at 
the  first,  mostly  at  home,  he  entered  Yale  College  in  1765, 
and  graduated,  with  the  first  honor,  in  1769.  President 
Dwight,  his  classmate,  was  regarded  as  his  equal  in  scholar- 
ship, but  was  his  junior  in  years.  He  studied  law  for 
awhile,  but  soon  abandoned  it  for  the  ministry.  In  1772, 
he  was  appointed  a  Tutor  in  Yale  College,  and  served  one 
.year.  In  the  autumn  of  1773,  he  accepted  a  call  to  be  the 
pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  of  Hartford, 
Conn.,  as  the  successor  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Dorr.  He  was 
ordained,  January  5, 1774,  and  continued  in  that  position 
to  the  end  of  life. 

He  espoused  the  cause  of  his  country,  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution,  not  only  from  his  pulpit,  and  with  his  pen, 
but,  for  a  season,  as  a  chaplain  in  the  army.  After  the 
war,  he  set  himself,  with  all  his  might,  to  stem  and  beat 
back  the  floods  of  iniquity  and  infidelity  that  were,  in  con- 
sequence of  that  conflict,  sweeping  over  the  land.  His 
preaching  was  plain,  vigorous,  pointed,  and  imjDressive. 
Both  then,  and  throughout  his  ministry,  he  believed  in, 
and  labored  for,  "  revivals  of  religion,"  and  in  at  least  four 
distinct  instances  his  people  were  favored  with  the  special 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  resulting  in  large  accessions  to 
the  church. 

In  the  early  part  of  1796,  appeared,  from  the  New  Lon- 


588  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

don  press,  a  volume  of  331  pages,  entitled,—"  Calvinism 
Improved  ;  or,  The  Gospel  illustrated  as  a  System  of  Real 
Grace,  issuing  in  tlie  Salvation  of  All  Men.  A  Posthumous 
Work  of  the  late  Reverend  Joseph  Huntington,  D.D.,  Min- 
ister of  the  First  Church  in  Coventry,  Connecticut."  As  a 
native  of  Coventry,  and  more  as  a  minister  of  the  true  Gos- 
pel, Dr.  Strong  most  effectually  withstood  and  vanquished 
this  plausible  assailant.  The  very  same  year,  he  issued  his 
celebrated  and  masterly  work,  entitled, — "  The  Doctrine  of 
Eternal  Misery  Reconcileable  with  the  Infinite  Benevolence 
of  God,  and  a  Truth  plainly  asserted  in  the  Christian 
Scriptures.  By  Nathan  Strong,  Pastor  of  the  North  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Hartford." 

This  was  followed,  in  1798,  by  a  volume  of  "  Sermons," 
the  delivery  of  which  in  his  own  pulpit  had  been  followed 
by  a  powerful  revival  of  religion.  It  was  this  revival  that 
gave  birth  to  "The  Hartford  Selection  of  Hymns:  Com- 
piled by  Nathan  Strong,  Abel  Flint,  and  Joseph  Steward. 
Hartford,  1799,"— the  compilation  of  which  devolved  prin- 
cipally upon  himself.  For  twenty-five  years,  this  book  had 
a  very  large  circulation,  and  was  very  extensively  used  in 
the  churches  of  New  England,  chiefly  as  a  Supplement  to 
Dr.  AVatts'  Psalms  and  Hymns.  It  gradually  gave  place 
to  Dr.  Nettleton's  "  Village  Hymns,"  of  1824. 

Another  volume  of  "  Sermons,"  in  the  same  line  with  the 
previous  one,  was  issued  in  1800.  The  same  year  he  orig- 
inated, and,  in  connection  with  a  large  number  of  associate 
editors,  conducted,  The  Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine, 
a  monthly  periodical  in  book  form,  of  singular  merit  and 
adaptation  to  the  needs  of  the  time.  It  was  continued  for 
fifteen  years.  The  follo^\ing  year  (1801),  he  received  the 
honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  from  the  College  of  New  Jersey, 
at  Princeton.  "  The  Connecticut  Missionary  Society,"  the 
pioneer  Home  Missionary  Society  of  the  age,  was  organized 
in  1798,  mainly  through  his  agency,  and  was  principally 
directed  by  him  until  1806.  In  the  course  of  his  ministry, 
he  published  several  valuable  occasional  sermons. 

He  was  married,  November  20, 1777,  to  the  eldest  daugh- 


NATHAN  STRONG.  589 

ter  of  Dr.  Solomon  Smith,  of  Hartford.  She  died,  October 
17,  1784,  leaving  a  son  and  a  daughter.  On  the  20th  of 
June,  1787,  he  married  Anna  McCurdy,  of  Lyme,  Conn., 
who,  after  the  birth  of  a  son,  died,  March  22,  1789.  He 
himself  died,  after  a  short,  but  painful,  illness,  December 
25, 1816,  less  than  three  weeks  before  his  classmate,  Presi- 
dent Dwight,  of  New  Haven. 

Dr.  Strong  had  a  keen  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  and 
abounded,  especially  in  the  early  years  of  his  ministry,  in 
wit  and  humor.  He  was  a  most  charming  companion,  and 
a  devoted  pastor,  endearing  himself  greatly  to  his  people. 
He  labored  assiduously  as  a  preacher,  and  his  services  were 
sought  for,  continually,  on  public  occasions.  His  influence 
in  public  affairs  was  great  and  commanding.  He  was  a 
keen  observer  of  men,  and  exhibited  a  remarkable  pene- 
tration in  detecting  character.  His  loss  was  deeply  felt, 
especially  in  New  England. 

His  poetic  efforts  were  limited  to  a  few  hymns,  the  most 
of  which  were  published  anonymously  in  the  "Hartford 
Selection."  Eight  of  these,  with  Dr.  Strong's  name  at- 
tached, were  transferred  by  Dr.  Nettleton  (1824),  eight 
years  after  the  author's  death,  to  the  "Village  Hymns." 
They  are  theological  more  than  poetical,  and  seem  to  have 
been  written  for  use  in  revival  meetings.  One  of  them, 
entitled,  "  Christ  revealed  in  a  Soul  slain  by  the  Law,"  is 
subjoined : 

"  Smote  by  the  law  I'm  justly  slain; 
Great  God !  behold  my  case ; 
Pity  a  sinner  filled  with  pain, 
Nor  drive  me  from  thy  face. 

"  Dread  terrors  fright  my  guilty  soul; 
Thy  justice,  all  in  flames, 
Gives  sentence  on  this  heart  so  foul, 
So  hard,  so  full  of  crimes. 

"  'Tis  trembling  hardness  that  I  feel; 
I  fear,  but  can't  relent, — 
Perhaps,  of  endless  death  the  seal: 
Oh !  that  I  could  repent ! 


690  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  My  prayers,  my  tears,  my  vows  are  vile, 
My  duties  black  with  guilt ; 
On  such  a  wretch  can  mercy  smile, 
Though  Jesus'  blood  was  spilt  ? 

"  Speechless  I  sink  to  endless  night, 
I  see  an  opening  hell ! — 
But,  lo !  what  glory  strikes  my  sight ! 
Such  glory  who  can  tell  ? 

"  Enrapt  in  these  bright  beams  of  peace, 
I  feel  a  gracious  God: — 
Swell,  swell  the  note ; — Oh !  tell  his  grace ; 
Sound  his  high  praise  abroad." 


JOSEPH  SWAIN. 
1761-1796. 

Me.  Swain  was  born  (1761)  at  Birmingliain,  England. 
Left  an  orplian  at  an  early  age,  lie  was  apprenticed  to  an 
engraver.  Before  lie  came  of  age,  lie  went  up  to  London, 
and  was  led  astray  by  bad  company.  Of  a  Jovial  disposi- 
tion, lie  composed  songs  and  plays  for  the  amusement  of 
Ms  comrades.  Becoming  alarmed  at  the  thouglit  of  death, 
lie  bought  a  Bible,  and,  by  its  perusal,  was  led  to  embrace 
a  Christian  life.  He  was  baptized.  May  11,  1783,  by  the 
Rev.  John  Rijopon,  D.D.,  and  became  an  active  member  of 
the  church.  At  length,  he  was  induced  to  undertake  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  and,  in  June,  1791,  he  took  charge  of 
a  mission  station  in  East  Street,  Walworth,  near  Surrey 
Gardens,  London.  A  church  was  organized  in  December, 
of  which  he  was  ordained  the  pastor,  February  8, 1792. 

He  had,  for  several  years,  been  writing  spiritual  songs, 
which  he  now  published  (1792)  with  the  title,  "  Wahvorth 
Hymns,"  192  in  number.  He  abounded  in  labor,  and  his 
ministry  was  much  prospered.     Li  four  years,  his  church 


WILLIAM  BINGHAM  TAPPAN.  591 

increased  from  27  to  200  members,  and  the  place  of  worsMp 
was  thrice  enlarged.  Of  an  infirm  body,  lie  soon  lost  his 
health,  and  after  a  severe  illness  of  a  fortnight,  he  died  in 
great  j)eace,  April  14,  1796,  in  his  thirty-fifth  year. 

After  his  decease,  were  published  (1797) :  "  Redemjjtion,  a 
Poem,  with  a  Life  of  the  Author";  and  "Experimental 
Essays  on  Divine  Subjects,"  in  verse.  The  following  stan- 
zas are  the  last  half  of  his  hymn  on  "  Praise  for  Conver- 
sion ": 

"  Sweet  as  angels'  notes  in  heaven, 
When  to  golden  harps  they  sound, 
Is  the  voice  of  sins  forgiven. 
To  the  soul  by  Satan  bound. 

' '  Sweet  as  angels'  harps  in  glory, 
Was  that  heavenly  voice  to  me, 
When  I  saw  my  Lord  before  me, 
Bleed  and  die  to  set  me  free. 

"  Saints!  attend  with  holy  wonder; 
Sinners !  hear  and  sing  his  praise ; 
'Tis  the  God  that  holds  the  thunder, 
Shews  himself  the  God  of  grace." 


WILLIAM  BINGHAM  TAPPAN. 

1794-1849. 

Mr.  Tappaist  was  born,  October  29,  1794,  at  Beverly 
Mass.  His  father,  Samuel  Tappan,  was  a  teacher,  and  died 
when  his  son  was  only  twelve  years  old.  The  latter  served 
his  time  as  an  apprentice  to  a  clock-maker,  in  Boston. 
When  of  age  (1815)  he  found  his  way  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  obtained  employment  in  his  trade.  But  the  pur- 
suit was  not  congenial.  His  tastes  were  literary.  As  early 
as  in  his  tenth  year,  he  had  written  verse,  and  had  continued 
ever  since  to  cultivate  the  art.  Leaving  Philadeli)hia 
(1818),  he  took  up  his  abode  at  Somerville,  N.  J.,  and  de- 


592  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

voted  himself  awliile  to  study  ;  after  whicli  he  returned  to 
Philadelphia,  and  became  a  teacher. 

In  1819,  he  published  his  "New  England,  and  other 
Poems  ";  and,  in  1820,  his  "  Songs  of  Judah,  and  other  Melo- 
dies." He  contributed  (1822)  several  short  pieces  to  TTie 
Fresbyterian  Magazine^  and  other  periodicals.  The  same 
year  (1822)  he  published  a  volume  of  "Lyrics";  and  mar- 
ried Amelia,  the  daughter  of  Major  Luther  Colton,  of  Long 
Meadow,  Mass.  Relinquishing  his  vocation  as  a  teacher, 
he  took  the  position  (1826)  of  Salesman  and  General  Super- 
intendent of  the  Depository  of  the  "American  Sunday- 
School  Union  "  (organized  two  years  before)  at  Philadelphia, 
in  whose  service  he  continued  to  the  end  of  life.  He  had 
charge  of  the  S.  S.  Depository,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  from 
1829  to  1834,  returning  then  to  Philadelphia,  where  (1834) 
he  published  a  fourth  volume  of  Poems,  and  a  fifth  in 
1836. 

He  removed  to  Boston,  Mass.,  in  1838,  and  became  the 
General  Agent  of  the  "  American  S,  S.  Union "  for  New 
England.  He  published  "  The  Poet's  Tribute  "  in  1840,  and 
"Poems  and  Lyrics"  in  1842.  In  1841,  he  obtained  from  a 
Congregational  Association,  license  to  preach,  in  order  the 
more  fully  to  carry  forward  his  agency  in  his  visits  to  the 
churches.  In  the  intervals  of  official  service,  he  took  occa- 
sion to  revise  his  publications,  and  republished  them  in 
five  volumes:  "Poetry  of  the  Heart"  (1845);  "Sacred  and 
Miscellaneous  Poems"  (1846);  "Poetry  of  Life"  (1847); 
"The  Sunday  -  School,  and  other  Poems"  (1848);  and 
"  Late  and  Early  Poems  "  (1849).  AVhile  preparing  another 
volume  for  the  press,  he  fell  a  victim  to  epidemic  cholera, 
June  18, 1849,  at  West  Needham,  Mass.  Among  his  pub- 
lications was  "Memoirs  of  Captain  James  Wilson." 

The  following  closing  stanzas  of  his  Hymn  on  "Wor- 
ship "  are  a  fitting  sequel  to  this  sketch  : 

"  'Tis  ours  to  sojourn  in  a  waste, 

Barren  and  cold  as  Shinar's  ground ; 
No  fruits  of  Eshcol  charm  the  taste, 
No  streams  of  Meribah  are  found; 


NAHUM  TATE.  693 

But  thou  canst  bid  the  desert  bud 

With  more  than  Sharon's  rich  display; 

And  thou  canst  bid  the  cooling  flood 

Giish  from  the  rock,  and  cheer  the  way. 

"  We  tread  the  path  thy  people  trod, 

Alternate  sunshine,  bitter  tears ; 
Go  thou  before,  and  with  thy  rod 

Divide  the  Jordan  of  our  fears : 
Be  ours  the  song  of  triumph  given — 

Angelic  themes  to  lips  of  clay ; 
And  om-s  the  holy  harp  of  heaven, 

Whose  strain  dissolves  the  soul  away." 


NAHUM  TATE. 
165^1715. 

Tlie  "  New  Version  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  fitted  to  the 
Tunes  used  in  Churches,"  by  "N.  Brady,  D.D.,  Chaphiin 
in  Ordinary,  and  N.  Tate,  Esq.,  Poet  Laureate  to  his  Maj- 
esty," was  authorized  in  1696.  An  Appendix  of  22  hymns 
was  added  in  1703. 

The  "  Old  Version,"  by  Sternhold,  Hopkins,  and  others, 
of  the  previous  century,  ha"VT.ng  become  antiquated,  and 
distasteful  to  scholarly  worshippers,  the  "New  Version" 
was  undertaken  by  Tate  and  Brady,  and  twenty  Psalms,  as 
specimens,  were  published  in  1695.  On  the  completion  of 
the  whole  Psalter,  the  work  was  submitted  to  the  Bishop 
of  London  (Henry  Compton,  D.D.),  and,  having  been  ap- 
proved, the  Royal  Permission  for  its  publication  was  given 
in  the  words  following : 

"At  the  Court  at  Kensington,  December  the  3d,  1696, 
present  the  King's  most  excellent  Majesty  in  Council. 

"  Upon  the  humble  petition  of  N.  Brady  and  N.  Tate, 
this  day  read  at  the  Board,  setting  forth,  that  the  petition- 
ers have,  with  their  utmost  care  and  industry,  completed  a 
38 


594  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

new  Version  of  tlie  Psalms  of  David  in  English  metre  fitted 
for  iDublic  use,  and  humbly  praying  his  Majesty's  Royal 
Allowance,  that  the  said  Version  may  be  used  in  such  con- 
gregations, as  shall  think  fit  to  receive  it : 

"  His  Majesty,  taking  the  same  into  his  Royal  considera- 
tion, is  pleased  to  order  in  Council,  that  the  said  new  Ver- 
sion of  Psalms  in  English  metre  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby, 
allowed  and  permitted  to  be  used  in  all  such  Churches, 
Chapels,  and  Congi'egations,  as  shall  think  fit  to  receive  the 
same. " 

Thus  sanctioned,  the  New  Version  gradually  supplanted 
the  Old,  and  is  still  regarded  as  the  authorized  Psalmody 
of  the  Church  of  England,  having  been,  for  nearly  two 
centuries,  printed  with  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  The 
part  taken  by  the  compilers  in  the  preparation  of  the  work 
has  never  been  divulged.  But,  as  Tate  was  at  the  time  the 
Poet  Laureate,  he  has  ordinarily  been  credited  with  the 
principal  share  of  the  translation,  and  with  the  revision  of 
the  whole. 

Nahum  Tate  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Faithful  Teate, 
D.D.,  a  native  of  County  Cavan,  Ireland,  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Dublin,  minister  of  Ballyhays,  and  then  of 
St.  Werburgh's,  Dublin — an  author  and  a  poet  of  consider- 
able repute,  in  the  days  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  of 
Charles  II.  The  son  was  born  in  Dublin  in  1652  ;  was  matric- 
ulated at  the  University  in  1668  ;  and,  after  his  graduation, 
made  his  way  to  London  and  entered  on  a  literary  career. 

He  published,  in  1677,  a  volume  of  "  Poems  writ  on  sev- 
eral Occasions";  in  168.5,  a  compilation  of  "Poems  by  sev- 
eral Hands,  and  on  several  Occasions  ";  in  1686,  "  Memorials 
for  the  Learned,  collected  out  of  Eminent  Authors  in  His- 
tory ";  in  1091,  "Characters  of  Virtue  and  Vice  Described 
and  Attempted  in  Verse,  from  a  Treatise  of  Joseph  Hall, 
Bishop  of  Exon."  The  next  year  (1692)  he  succeeded 
Thomas  Shadwell  as  Poet  Laureate.  He  had  written 
eight  Plays,  partly  borrowed  from  other  writers,  and  ex- 
hibiting but  little  originality. 

In  1693,  he  published  a  "Present  for  the  Ladies";  in 


NAHUM  TATE.  595 

1694,  a  "Poem  on  Promotion";  in  lo95,  an  "Elegy  on 
Arclibisliop  Tillotson";  also,  the  same  year  (with  Dr.  Bra- 
dy), "Twenty  Psalms,"  and  an  "Elegy  on  Queen  Mary"; 
in  1698,  "  Miscellanea  Sacra,  or  Poems  on  Divine  and  Moral 
Subjects";  also  (with  Dr.  Brady)  the  "New  Version  of 
the  Psalms  of  David,"  by  which  his  name  has  been  im- 
mortalized; in  1699,  "Elegies";  in  1700,  "Panacea,  a  Po- 
em on  Tea";  in  1705,  "The  Triumph";  and,  in  1710,  an 
"  Essay  for  Promoting  Psalmody." 

Having  lived,  tor  the  most  part,  an  improvident  life,  he 
died,  deeply  in  debt,  at  his  house,  near  the  INIint,  South- 
wark,  August  12,  1715.  "He  possessed,"  says  Taylor,  in 
his  History  of  the  University  of  Dublin,  "considerable 
learning,  joined  to  a  good  share  of  \vit,  and  very  agreeable 
manners  ;  but  he  was  too  modest  to  push  himself  into  those 
situations  to  which  his  merit  fairly  entitled  him." 

His  poetry  was  a  great  improvement  on  that  which  had 
so  long  maintained  its  place  in  the  devotions  of  the  Church. 
Though  seldom  rising  to  sublimity,  it  rarely  falls  below  me- 
diocrity. Some  of  it  is  very  inspiring.  Among  the  better 
specimens  is  to  be  ranked  his  version  of  the  112th  Psalm  '. 

"  That  man  is  blessed,  who  stands  in  awe 
Of  God,  and  loves  his  sacred  law ; 
His  seed  on  earth  shall  be  renowned 
And  with  successive  honors  crowned. 
His  house  the  seat  of  wealth  shall  be, 
An  inexhausted  treasury ; 
His  justice,  free  from  all  decay, 
Shall  blessings  to  his  heirs  convey. 
The  soul  that 's  filled  with  virtue's  light 
Shines  brightest  in  affliction's  night, 
To  pity  the  distressed  incliued, 
As  well  as  just  to  all  mankind. 
His  liberal  favors  he  extends, 
To  some  he  gives,  to  others  lends , 
Yet  what  his  charity  impairs 
He  saves  by  prudence  in  a£FaLrs. 
Beset  with  thi'eatening  dangers  round. 
Unmoved  shall  he  maintain  bis  ground; 
The  sweet  remembrance  of  the  just 
Shall  flourish  when  he  sleeps  in  dust. 


696  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

ni-tidiags  never  can  surprise 

His  heart  that,  fixed,  on  God  relies ; 

On  safety's  rock  he  sits,  and  sees 

The  shipwreck  of  his  enemies. 

His  hands,  while  they  his  alms  bestowed, 

His  glory's  f ut\u'e  harvest  sowed ; 

Whence  he  shall  reap  wealth,  fame,  renown, 

A  temp'ral  and  eternal  crown. 

The  wicked  shall  his  triumph  see, 

And  gnash  their  teeth  in  agony. 

While  their  unrighteous  hopes  decay, 

And  vanish  with  themselves  away." 


Al^N  TAYLOR. 
1758-1830. 

Mrs.  Taylor's  maiden  name  was  Ann  Martin.  She  was 
born  in  1758,  and  was  the  daughter  of  a  London  tradesman. 
He  died  in  1764,  and  she  was  left  an  orphan.  Her  mother 
had  died  in  her  infancy. 

Thongh  deprived  of  both  parents  at  so  early  an  age, 
she  was  well  educated.  She  connected  herself,  in  youth, 
with  the  Independent  Church,  worshipping  in  Fetter-Lane, 
under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  James  Webb.  Her 
"  somewhat  extraordinary  talent  in  poetical  composition  " 
attracted  the  attention  and  love  of  Mr.  Isaac  Taylor,  a 
member  of  the  same  church,  a  young  artist,  and  the  son  of 
Mr.  Isaac  Taylor,  a  well-known  engraver.  They  were  united 
in  marriage  (1781),  and  lived  five  years  in  Red  Lion  Street, 
Holborn,  London.  They  then  removed  to  Lavenham,  Suf- 
folk, a  picturesque  place,  sixty-two  miles  from  London. 

Her  daughter  Ann  was  born  in  1782,  was  married  (1813) 
to  Rev.  Joseph  Gilbert,  and  died  in  1866.  Her  second 
daughter,  Jane,  was  born  in  1783,  and  died  in  1823.  Tliese 
two  sisters  became  renowned  and  useful  as  writers,  princi- 
pally for  children  and  youth.     [See  Jane  Taylor.]    Her 


ANN  TAYLOR.  597 

elder  son,  Isaac,  was  born  in  1787,  and  became  an  illustrious 
author  and  philosopher,  dying  in  1865.  Her  younger  son, 
Jeffreys,  born  in  1793,  also  became  a  learned  writer,  and 
died  in  1853.  Seldom  has  any  mother  been  more  signally 
honored  in  her  children.  Their  training  engrossed  her  at- 
tention and  tasked  her  energies,  during  the  earlier  period 
of  her  married  life,  more  especially  during  the  ten  years  of 
their  residence  at  Lavenham,  and  the  fifteen  years  of  their 
subsequent  abode  at  Colchester. 

In  1796,  Mr.  Taylor  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  and  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  a 
Dissenting  congregation  at  Colchester,  in  Essex.  In  1811, 
he  accepted  the  charge  of  a  congregation  at  Chipping  On- 
gar,  also  in  Essex,  where  he  continued  until  his  death,  De- 
cember 11,  1829. 

Mrs.  Taylor  began  to  write  for  the  press,  after  their  re- 
moval to  Ongar.  Early  in  1814,  she  published  "  Maternal 
Solicitude  for  a  Daughter's  Best  Interests," — a  volume  that 
was  well  received,  and  that  has  been  frequently  republished, 
as  well  as  translated  into  French.  This  was  followed  by 
"Advice  to  Mothers."  The  next  year  (1815),  appeared  her 
"Practical  Hints  to  Young  Females."  In  1817,  she  pub- 
lished, in  connection  with  her  daughter  Jane, "  Correspond- 
ence between  a  Mother  and  her  Daughter  at  School."  She 
issued,  in  1822,  a  "Present  of  a  Mistress  to  a  Young  Serv- 
ant"; and,  subsequently,  "The  Family  Mansion,  a  Tale"; 
"Eetrospection,  a  Tale";  and  "Reciprocal  Duties  of  Par- 
ents and  ChUdren."  These  works  were  written,  in  part,  to 
beguile  her  long  years  of  "  perpetual  and  severe  bodily  suf- 
ferings." The  death  of  her  husband  hastened  her  own. 
She  died,  May  27, 1830,  surviving  him  but  a  few  months. 

Her  hymn, 

"  There  is  a  dear  and  hallowed  spot,"  etc., 
was  contributed  by  her  in  1812  to  TTie  YouWs  Magazine, 


598  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

JANE  TAYLOE. 

1783-1824. 

That  talent  frequently  comes  by  inheritance,  is  confirmed 
by  the  history  of  the  Taylor  family,  of  which  Jane  was  so 
bright  an  ornament.  Her  grandfather,  Isaac  Taylor,  was 
an  eminent  engraver  of  London,  in  the  reigns  of  George 
II.  and  George  III.  He  trained  his  two  sons,  Charles  [1756- 
1821]  and  Isaac  [1759-1829],  to  his  own  profession,  and 
both  of  them  became  proficients  in  their  art.  Charles  is 
kno\\Ti  as  the  English  Editor  and  Illustrator  of  Calmet's 
"Dictionary  of  the  Holy  Bible"  [1797-1801],  in  which  he 
was  aided  greatly  by  his  younger  brother,  Isaac,  the  father 
of  Jane. 

Isaac  married  Ann  Martin,  a  lady  of  superior  endow- 
ments, who  was  herself  the  author  of  several  excellent 
publications.  [See  Aistn  Taylopw]  Their  children,  Ann, 
Jane,  Isaac,  and  Jeffreys,  all  distinguished  themselves  in 
the  literary  world.  Ann  [1782-1866]  married  the  Rev.  Jo- 
seph Gilbert,  first  of  Hull  and  then  of  Nottingham,  and 
was  associated  with  her  younger  sister,  Jane,  in  most  of 
her  publications.  Isaac  [1787-1865]  was  the  author  of  "  The 
Natural  History  of  Enthusiasm,"  "  Saturday  Evening,"  "  En- 
thusiasm," and  a  large  number  of  vigorous  works  on  relig- 
ious themes.  Jeffreys  [1793-1853],  though  not  as  eminent 
as  his  brother,  wrote,  mostly  for  the  young,  a  dozen  books, 
in  prose  and  verse. 

Jane  Taylor  was  born,  September  23, 1788,  at  her  father's 
residence.  Red  Lion  Street,  Holborn,  London.  Three  years 
afterwards,  Mr.  Taylor's  engagements  as  an  artist  allowed 
him,  while  prosecuting  his  business  in  London,  to  remove 
with  his  family  to  Lavenham,  a  picturesque  town  in  Suf- 
folk. Here  they  resided  for  ten  years,  and  the  sisters, 
favorably  situated  for  the  cultivation  of  the  poetic  spirit, 
very  early  began  to  amuse  themselves  and  their  friends  by 
their  compositions  in  verse.     Some  of  Jane's  verses  were 


JANE  TAYLOR  599 

written  as  early  as  her  eighth  year.  The  education  of  the 
sisters  was  conducted  mostly  by  their  father,  who,  also, 
gave  them  instruction  in  his  own  handicraft,  so  that  they 
migli  t  have  the  means  of  self-support  in  after  life. 

Mr.  Taylor  had  gradually  addicted  himself,  in  his  pious 
propensity  for  doing  good,  to  the  work  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  in  the  villages  round  about.  Early  in  1796,  he 
accepted  a  call  to  be  the  pastor  of  a  Dissenting  congrega- 
tion in  the  populous  town  of  Colchester,  Essex,  fifty  miles 
from  London,  and  was  ordained  to  the  ministry.  Here,  for 
fifteen  years,  the  sisters  practiced  their  art,  aiding  their 
father  materially  in  both  sketching  and  engraving  for  the 
works  that  he  issued  to  please  and  instruct  the  young.  In 
1802,  Jane,  for  the  first  time  since  her  infancy,  visited  the 
metropolis,  and  formed  many  valuable  acquaintances. 

Her  first  contribution  to  the  press  was  "Tlie  Beggar 
Boy,"  a  sprightly  ditty  of  eleven  four-line  stanzas,  which 
appeared  in  "The  Minor's  Pocket-Book  for  1804."  The 
sisters  became  regular  contributors  to  this  serial.  In  1805, 
they  ventured  to  send  their  first  volume  to  the  press,  en- 
titled, "  Original  Poems  for  Infant  Minds,  by  Several  Young 
Persons."  It  was  republished,  soon  after,  in  America,  and, 
in  a  translation,  both  in  Germany  and  Holland.  The  year 
following,  a  second  volume  of  "  Original  Poems,"  and 
"  Rhymes  for  the  Nursery,"  met  with  like  favor.  The 
contributions  of  the  two  sisters  to  these  volumes  are  not 
distinguishable. 

In  1810,  Jane  contributed  several  short  poems  to  Josiah 
Conder's  "Associate  Minstrels."  The  sisters,  soon  after, 
issued  a  volume  of  "  Original  Hynms  for  the  Use  of  Chil- 
dren," followed  by  "Original  Hymns  for  Sunday- Schools." 
In  September,  1811,  the  family  removed  to  Ongar,  Essex, 
Mr.  Taylor  having  resigned  his  charge  at  the  close  of  1810, 
and  having  now  accepted  a  call  to  Ongar.  Jane  abandoned 
her  occupation  as  an  artist,  and  devoted  herself  to  litera- 
ture. The  winter  months  of  1812  and  1813  were  spent  with 
her  invalid  brother  Isaac,  at  Ilfracombe,  Devonshire;  and 
the  two  succeeding  years  at  Marazion,  Cornwall.     Here  she 


600  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

numbered  among  her  intimate  friends,  Anne,  the  only 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Maxwell,  of  Bath,  and  subse- 
quently the  wife  of  the  gifted  Rev.  Henry  Francis  Lyte ; 
also,  Miss  Greenfell,  the  betrothed  of  Henry  Martyn. 

During  her  sojourn  in  the  West  of  England,  she  occu- 
pied her  spare  time  in  writing  her  "  Display,  a  Tale,"  which 
apx)eared  late  in  1814.  Her  "Essays  in  Rhyme,  on  Morals 
and  Manners,"  written  at  Marazion,  followed  in  1816.  In 
February,  1816,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  conductors  of 
the  YouWs  Magazine^  she  commenced  her  contributions 
to  that  periodical,  and  continued  them  during  seven  years. 
After  her  death  they  were  collected  by  her  brother  Isaac, 
and  published,  in  two  volumes,  as  "  The  Contributions  of 
Q.  Q.  to  a  Periodical  Work." 

After  a  short  visit  to  her  sister  Ann  (who,  in  1813,  had  mar- 
ried Mr.  Gilbert,  and  removed  to  Masborough,  near  Rother- 
ham,  Yorkshire),  she  returned,  August,  1816,  after  a  three 
years'  absence,  to  her  home  in  Ongar.  She  now  engaged, 
with  her  mother,  in  the  composition  of  a  "  Correspondence 
between  a  Mother  and  her  Daughter  at  School,"  which  was 
published  the  following  year,  having  been  completed  at 
Hastings,  Sussex,  where  she  spent  the  succeeding  winter. 
Shortl}'^  after  her  return  to  Ongar,  in  the  summer  of  1817, 
she  made  a  profession  of  her  faith  in  Christ,  connecting 
herself  with  her  father's  church.  To  this  event  is  assigned 
her  hymn, 

"  Come,  my  fond  fluttering'  heart! "  etc. 

A  slow  and  fatal  disease  had  shown  itself,  under  which 
her  health  gradually  gave  way.  Frequent  journeys  were 
undertaken  and  visits  made  to  friends,  year  by  year,  with- 
out permanent  relief.  As  far  as  her  strength  allowed,  she 
engaged  in  works  of  piety  and  benevolence.  In  July,  1823, 
her  uncle.  Rev.  James  Hinton,  died,  and  in  November,  her 
father's  brother,  Charles,  followed.  These  bereavements 
deeply  impressed  her  with  the  belief  of  her  own  approach- 
ing end.     Fully  prepared  for  the  change,  she  calmly  and 


JOHN  TAYLOR.  601 

hopefully  awaited  tlie  liour  of  her  departure,  wMch  occurred 
only  a  few  montlis  later, — April  12,  1824. 

She  wrote  (1823),  the  year  before  her  decease,  a  hymn  of 
twelve  stanzas,  on  "  The  Things  that  are  Unseen  and  Eter- 
nal/' from  which  the  following  stanzas  are  taken : 

*'  The  Saviour  whom  I  long  have  sought, 
And  woxild,  but  can  not  see, — 
And  is  he  here !     Oh !  wondrous  thought ! 
And  will  he  dwell  with  me? 

"  I  ask  not  with  my  mortal  eye 
To  view  the  vision  bright ; 
I  dare  not  see  thee,  lest  I  die ; 
Yet,  Lord !  restore  my  sight ! 

*'  Give  me  to  see  thee,  and  to  feel 
The  mental  vision  clear ; 
The  things  unseen  reveal — reveal, 
And  let  me  know  them  near. 

"  Illume  this  shadowy  soul  of  mine, 
That  still  in  darkness  lies ; 
Oh !  let  the  light  in  darkness  shine, 
And  bid  the  day-star  rise. 

"  Impart  the  faith,  that  soars  on  high 
Beyond  this  earthly  strife. 
That  holds  sweet  converse  with  the  sky, 
And  lives  eternal  life." 


JOHN  TAYLOR. 

1694^1761. 

Dr.  JoHisr  Tayloe  was  distinguished,  in  the  former  part 
of  the  last  century,  as  a  theological  writer,  and  an  Arian 
divine.  He  was  bom,  in  1694,  at  or  near  Lancaster,  Eng- 
land.    He  was  educated  at  "Whitehaven,  under  the  instruc- 


602  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

tion,  principally,  of  Dr.  Dixon.  In  1715,  lie  was  appointed 
to  the  Chapel  of  Kirkstead,  Lincolnshire,  an  obscure  posi- 
tion, with  a  very  small  salary,  where  he  remained,  as 
preacher  and  teacher,  for  eighteen  years.  In  the  mean- 
time, he  became  a  diligent  student  of  the  Scriptures  in  the 
original  tongues.  In  1733,  he  was  chosen  the  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  congregation  of  Norwich,  having  become  a 
convert  to  the  views  expressed  in  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke's 
"  Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity." 

In  1736,  he  published  "A  Prefatory  Discourse  to  Mr. 
Joseph  Rawson's  Case";  and,  in  1740,  his  "  Scriptural  Doc- 
trine of  Original  Sin  proposed  to  Free  and  Candid  Exami- 
nation," with  a  "Supplement"  in  1741.  This  work  pro- 
voked an  extensive  controversy,  in  which  John  Wesley  and 
Jonathan  Edwards  took  part.  In  1745,  he  issued  his  elab- 
orate "Paraphrase  and  Notes  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans ;  to  which  is  prefixed  A  Key  to  the  Apostolic  Writ- 
ings, or  an  Essay  to  explain  the  Gospel  Scheme,  and  the 
Principal  Words  and  Phrases  the  Apostles  have  used  in 
describing  it."  The  "Key"  was  reprinted  in  the  third 
volume  of  Bishop  Watson's  Theological  Tracts,  as  "  the 
best  Introduction  to  the  Epistles,  and  the  clearest  Account 
of  the  whole  Gospel  Scheme,  which  was  ever  ^vritten"; 
while  Archbishop  Magee,  on  the  other  hand,  declares  "  it 
is  nothing  more  than  an  artificial  accommodation  of  Scrip- 
ture Phrases  to  notions  utterly  repugnant  to  Christian 
doctrine." 

"  The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Atonement "  followed  in 
1750,  The  first  volume  of  his  "Hebrew  Concordance 
adapted  to  the  English  Bible,"  "  after  the  manner  of  Bux- 
torf,"  appeared  in  1754,  and  the  second,  in  1757, — a  work  of 
great  labor  and  learning,  for  which  he  received,  from  the 
University  of  Glasgow,  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  In 
1757,  he  became  the  Principal  of  the  Academy,  just  estab- 
lished by  the  Arians  in  the  North  of  England,  at  Warring- 
ton, Lancashire.  His  remaining  publications  were  two 
IDamphlets,  one  of  which  was  "  A  Sketch  of  Moral  Philos- 
ophy "  for  the  use  of  his  class.     His  "  Scheme  of  Scripture 


JOHN  TAYLOR.  603 

Divinity  "  was  publislied  after  his  death,  by  his  eldest  son, 
Richard  Taylor,  of  Norwich  (1762).  It  is  reprinted  as 
the  first  Article  in  Vol.  I.  of  Bishop  Watson's  "  Theolog- 
ical Tracts." 

He  died,  without  premonition,  on  the  night  of  March  5, 
1761,  and  his  remains  were  buried  at  Kirkstead.  On  his 
tombstone  is  inscribed, — "  Expect  no  Eulogium  from  this 
Stone.  Enquire  amongst  the  Friends  of  Learning,  Liberty, 
and  Truth  ;  these  will  do  him  justice." 

The  poetry  of  Mr.  Taylor,  while  careful  in  statement,  and 
exact  in  rhythm,  is  lacking  in  warmth.  The  following 
hymn  is  one  of  his  best : 

"  Father  of  our  feeble  race, 

Wise,  beneficent,  and  kind ! 
Spread  o'er  nature's  ample  face, 

Flows  thy  goodness  unconfined: 
Musing  in  the  sileat  gi'ove. 

Or  the  busy  walks  of  men, 
Still  we  trace  thy  wondrous  love, 

Claiming  large  returns  again. 

''  Lord !  what  offerings  shall  we  bring, 

At  thine  altars  when  we  bow  ? 
Hearts,  the  pure  unsullied  spring, 

Whence  the  kind  affections  flow ; — 
Soft  compassion's  feeling  soul, 

By  the  melting  eye  expressed ; — 
Sympathy,  at  whose  control. 

Sorrow  leaves  the  wounded  breast ; — 

*'  Willing  hands,  to  lead  the  blind. 

Heal  the  wounded,  feed  the  poor; — 
Love,  embracing  all  our  kind ; — 

Charity,  with  liberal  store: 
Teach  us,  O  thou  heavenly  King! 

Thus  to  show,  our  grateful  mind, — 
Thus  th'  accepted  offering  bring, — 

Love  to  thee  and  all  mankind." 


604  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

THOMAS  RAWSON  TAYLOR. 

1807-1835. 

Thomas  Rawson  Tayloe  was  the  grandson  of  Andrew 
Taylor,  a  farmer,  of  Humbleton,  Nortliumberland,  Eng- 
land. His  father,  Thomas  (1768-1853),  entered  the  minis- 
try in  1799,  and  took  charge  of  a  Dissenting  congregation 
at  Ossett,  Yorkshire.  He  married  Mary,  the  daughter  of  L. 
W.  Rawson,  of  Leeds.  Thomas  was  their  eldest  son,  and 
was  born  at  Ossett,  May  9,  1807.  In  February,  1808,  Mr. 
Taylor  took  charge  of  the  Congregational  Church  of  Brad- 
ford, a  large  manufacturing  town,  near  Leeds,  and  here  the 
son  spent  his  boyhood. 

"He  was  a  docile,  affectionate,  and  home-loving  child." 
He  attended  the  grammar-school  at  Bradford  from  the  age 
of  seven  to  eleven  years,  w^hen  he  was  sent  to  Dr.  Clunie's 
Academy,  at  Manchester.  At  fifteen  (1822),  he  entered  a  mer- 
chant's counting-house  as  clerk  ;  but,  the  next  year  (1823), 
he  became  an  apprentice  to  Mr.  Dunn,  a  printer,  at  ]S"ot- 
tingham, — a  devout  man,  in  whose  family  his  religious 
inclinations  were  greatly  strengthened.  At  the  end  of 
three  years,  by  the  cheerful  consent  of  Mr.  Dunn,  he  gave 
up  his  occupation,  and  entered  Airedale  College  as  a  stu- 
dent for  the  ministry.  During  his  four  years  of  prepara- 
tory study,  he  frequently  preached  in  the  neighboring  vil- 
lages, with  great  acceptance  and  much  success. 

In  July,  1830,  he  became  the  minister  of  Howard  Street 
Chapel  in  Sheffield,  the  home  of  the  poet  Montgomery. 
Pulmonary  disease  had  already  developed  itself  in  his  frail 
system,  and  soon  interrupted  his  labors.  During  the  next 
two  years,  he  was  not  able  to  preach  more  than  one  fourth 
of  the  time  ;  and,  at  the  close  of  this  period,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  resign  his  charge.  He  now  (1833)  returned  to 
Bradford,  and,  as  far  as  his  failing  health  allowed,  he  as- 
sisted his  father,  in  the  pulpit.  For  a  short  time,  the  fol- 
lowing year,  he  occupied  the  position  of  classical  tutor  at 


GERHABD  TERSTEEGEN.  605 

Airedale  College.  Gradually  lie  sunk,  and  wasted  away, 
until  Marcli  15,  1835,  when  his  beautiful  life  peacefully 
ended. 

In  1836,  were  published  his  "  Memoirs  and  Select  Re- 
mains," by  W.  S.  Mathews ;  also  a  volume  of  his  "  Sermons 
preached  in  Howard  Street  Chapel,  Sheffield."  A  second 
edition  of  his  "Memoirs,"  etc.,  "with  an  Introduction  by 
James  Montgomery,  Esq.,"  appeared  in  1842.  His  poetic 
"  Remains "  give  abundant  evidence  of  high  culture  and 
promise  in  the  divine  art.  The  story  of  his  life  gives  lustre 
to  his  sweet  hymn, 

"I'm  but  a  stranger  here,"  etc., 
and  to  the  lovely  sonnet  from  his  pen,  here  subjoined : 

"  Oh !  just  when  thou  shalt  please  would  I  depart, 
My  Father  and  my  God !  I  would  not  choose, 
Ev'n  if  I  might,  the  moment  to  unloose 
The  bonds  which  bind  my  weak  and  worthless  heart 
From  its  bright  home.     So  I  but  have  a  part. 
However  humble,  there,  it  matters  not. 
Or  long,  or  short,  my  pilgrimage, — my  lot 
Joyful  or  joyless, — if  the  flowei's  may  start 
Where'er  I  tread,  or  thorns  obstruct  my  path, 
I  look  not  at  the  present ;  many  years 
Are  but  so  many  moments,  though  of  tears ; 
My  soul's  bright  home  a  lovelier  aspect  hath ; 
And  if  it  surely  shall  be  mine — and  then 
For  ever  mine — it  matters  little  when ! " 


GERHARD  TERSTEEGEN". 

1697-1769. 

Gerhaed  Tersteege]^  was  bom,  November  25, 1697,  in 
the  town  of  Mors,  near  Dusseldorf,  Germany.  His  father, 
who  died  soon  after  the  son's  birth,  was  a  respectable 


606  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

tradesman,  of  the  Reformed  faith.  Gerhard  was  the  young- 
est of  eight  childi'en,  and  was  carefully  educated  at  the 
grammar-school  of  Mors,  where  he  became  acquainted  with 
the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew  languages,  showing  great 
proficiency.  He  was  of  a  feeble  frame,  of  a  scrupulous  con- 
science, and  religiously  inclined. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  (1712),  he  was  bound  as  an  appren- 
tice to  an  elder  brother,  a  shopkeeper,  at  Miihlheim,  on  the 
Ruhr.  Through  the  influence  mainly  of  a  pious  tradesman, 
with  whom  he  here  became  acquainted,  he  was  led,  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  God.  He 
gave  himself  to  fasting,  and  to  prayer  by  night,  while  his 
days  were  occupied  with  work. 

Coming  of  age,  he  determined  to  leave  his  occupation  for 
one  of  greater  retirement.  He  obtained  a  humble  cottage 
near  Muhlheim,  where  he  lived,  on  the  simplest  diet,  the  life 
of  a  recluse,  supporting  himself  by  weaving  silk  ribbons. 
He  greatly  enjoyed  his  seclusion ;  "  I  often  thought,"  he 
said,  "  no  king  in  the  world  could  live  so  contentedly  as  I 
did  at  that  time."  A  period  of  spiritual  darkness,  grow- 
ing, in  some  measure,  out  of  the  austerities  of  his  mode  of 
life,  and  continuing  the  greater  part  of  five  years,  followed, 
— as  described  in  a  hymn  written  at  this  time,  of  which  a 
translation  is  found  in  Miss  Winkworth's  "Lyra  Ger- 
manica,"  Vol.  II.,  beginning  with 

"Jesus,  pitying  Saviour !  hear  me." 
["Jesu,  main  Erbarmer !  hore."] 

He  was  delivered  at  length  from  the  bondage  of  doubt, 
on  which  occasion  he  wrote,  with  his  own  blood,  a  remark- 
able self-dedication  to  his  divine  Redeemer.  The  following 
year  (1725),  he  terminated  his  seclusion,  by  admitting  a 
young  friend,  Heinrich  Sommer,  to  live  with  him,  and 
share  in  his  daily  labor  at  the  loom.  He  stiU  devoted  two 
hours  daily  to  private  devotion,  and  gave  much  time  to  re- 
ligious composition,  in  poetry  and  prose.  Muhlheim  having 
been  favored  (1727)  with  a  remarkable  revival  of  religion, 


GERHAED  TERSTEEGEN.  607 

lie  was  induced,  at  thirty  years  of  age,  to  make  occasional 
addresses  at  private  religious  meetings.  So  acceptable  and 
useful  were  liis  instructions,  that  he  shortly  relinquished 
his  ribbon-weaving,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of 
spiritual  instruction,  orally  and  with  his  pen,  and  to  the 
care  of  the  sick  and  poor. 

He  now  became  the  spiritual  adviser  and  instructor  of 
multitudes.  A  small  income  was  provided  for  him  by 
friends.  A  more  suitable  abode  was  obtained  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  visitors,  who,  in  great  numbers,  resorted 
to  him  for  spiritual  and  medical  advice  from  all  quarters. 
A  dispensary  was  connected  with  it,  and  it  became  widely 
known  as  "The  Pilgrim's  Cottage."  Here  too  he  held 
public  religious  services,  ordinarily  to  as  many  as  the 
house  could  hold.  He  conducted  a  wide  correspondence, 
and  occasionally  Journeyed  abroad  on  his  pious  errands. 
Thirty  years  (1727-1757)  were  thus  almost  incessantly  oc- 
cupied, and  a  vast  amount  of  good  was  done,  principally 
among  the  humbler  classes.  He  accomplished  it  all  in  the 
midst  of  great  physical  debility,  with  frequent  attacks  of 
severe  illness  and  neuralgic  distress.  He  was  held  in  great 
reverence  and  affection,  but  never  appeared  to  seek  the  ap- 
plause or  favor  of  men.  Humble,  modest,  gentle,  and  un- 
assuming, often  wholly  absorbed  in  communion  with  the 
spirit-world,  he  lived  a  life  of  continual  self-sacrifice  and 
eminent  godliness. 

At  the  age  of  sixty-one  (1758),  an  internal  injury  result- 
ing from  over-exertion  in  public  speaking,  brought  him 
apparently  near  to  the  grave,  and  compelled  him,  on  his 
partial  recovery,  to  relinquish  everything  like  preaching 
and  public  exhorting,  and  to  confine  himself  to  private  con- 
versation and  correspondence.  This  he  continued  to  the 
end  of  life,  toiling  on,  greatlj!^  emaciated,  and  full  of  suffer- 
ings. At  length,  he  was  afflicted  with  dropsy,  which  termi- 
nated his  course,  April  3,  1769,  in  his  seventy-second  year. 

He  wrote  111  hymns,  the  most  of  which  appeared  in  his 
"Spiritual  Flower  Garden."  They  are  of  a  superior  order, 
both  of  poetry  and  devotion.     They  pertain  mostly  to  the 


608  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

school  of  Mystics,  of  wliicli  their  author  was  regarded  as 
the  greatest  poet.  His  "  Spiritual  Crumbs  "  is  a  collection 
of  sermons  and  addresses,  taken  in  short-hand ;  of  which 
an  English  translation  has  gone  tlirough  several  editions. 
His  "  Works  "  were  published  (1846)  in  eight  volumes.  A 
volume  entitled, — "  The  Life  and  Character  of  Gerhard  Ter- 
steegen,  with  Extracts  from  his  Letters  and  Writings, 
translated  from  the  German  by  Samuel  Jackson,"  was  is- 
sued (1832)  at  London. 


THEODORE   [STUDITES]. 

759-826. 

Theodoee,  of  the  Studium — so  called  because  he  was  the 
Abbot  of  the  monastery  of  Studium,  built  by  the  Consul 
Studius,  in  the  suburbs  of  Constantinople — was  born  in  759, 
and,  after  he  attained  to  the  priesthood,  distinguished  him- 
self for  his  zeal  in  behalf  of  the  worship  of  images.  He  was 
a  brother  of  Joseph,  the  Archbishop  of  Thessalonica,  and 
lived  in  the  reigns  of  the  Emperors  Constantine  Coprony- 
mus,  Leo  IV.,  and  Constantine  YI.,  the  Empress  Irene,  and 
the  Emperors  Nicei)liorus  I.,  Michael  Curopalates,  Leo  of 
Armenia,  and  Michael  Balbus. 

Theodore  came  into  notice  in  the  reign  of  Constantine  VI., 
who,  under  the  pretext  that  his  wife  Mary  had  sought  to 
poison  him,  put  her  away  (795)  and  married  Theodecta,  a 
maid  of  honor  to  his  mother  Irene.  Theodore  denounced 
the  whole  transaction.  When  Leo,  the  Armenian,  called  a 
council  at  Constantinople  (814),  in  opposition  to  the  wor- 
ship of  images,  Theodore  Studites  and  his  party  took  the 
ground,  that  doctrinal  controversies  were  not  to  be  dis- 
cussed in  the  palace,  but  in  the  church.  At  a  subsequent 
council  (816)  Theodore  used  such  violent  language  against 
the  Emperor  and  the  Iconoclast  bishops  and  monks,  that 
he  was  sent  into  exile ;  but,  being  still  unsubdued,  he  was 


THEODULPH   [OF  ORLEANS].  609 

sent  to  prison,  where,  as  the  monks  of  his  party  represented, 
he  sujffered  great  hardships  and  cruelties.  He  died,  in  exile, 
at  Chalcis,  in  the  island  of  Euboea,  Greece,  November  11, 
826.  He  wrote  a  number  of  hymns  for  the  Rituals  of  the 
Greek  Church. 


THEODULPH   [OF  ORLEANS]. 

821. 

More  than  a  thousand  years  have  passed  since  the  hymn, 

"Gloria,  laiis,  et  honor  tibi  sit,  Rex  Christe  Redemptorl  " 

["All  glory,  laud,  and  honor  to  thee.  Redeemer,  King! " 

— Tr.  J.  M.  Neale.] 

was  written,  during  all  which  time  it  has  been  extensively 
sung  in  the  Latin  Church,  on  Palm  Sunday.  Theodulph, 
its  author,  was  born  in  Cisalpine  Gaul,  and  was  invited, 
about  781,  to  the  court  of  the  Emperor  Charlemagne.  He 
was  preferred,  by  imperial  favor,  to  the  Abbey  of  Fleury, 
and,  about  793,  to  the  bishopric  of  Orleans,  as  the  succes- 
sor of  Guitbert.  He  restored  the  ancient  strictness  of  dis- 
cipline in  his  diocese,  and  founded  schools  for  the  educa- 
tion of  his  people.  He  continued  in  favor  with  Charle- 
magne until  his  death  (814),  and  was  highly  esteemed  by 
his  son  and  successor,  Louis  le  Debonnaire,  who  employed 
him  at  court.  He  was  sent  to  attend  Pope  Stephen  on  his 
journey  from  Rome  to  Rheims  (816)  for  the  coronation  of 
the  Emperor.  Two  years  later  (818),  he  was  suspected  of 
complicity  in  the  revolt  of  Bernard,  the  King  of  Italy, 
against  his  uncle  Louis,  and,  though  protesting  his  inno- 
cence, he  was  deprived  of  his  benefices,  and  imprisoned  in 
the  monastery  of  Angers,  where  it  is  thought  that  he  died 
about  821. 

It  is  related  by  Clichtoveus  (1519),  that  the  hymn,  Qoted 
39 


610  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

above,  was  composed  by  Theodulph,  in  the  prison  at  An- 
gers in  818 ;  and  that  the  Emperor,  on  Palm  Sunday  of 
that  year,  took  part  in  the  procession  of  the  day  at  Angers : 
and  that  as  the  procession  passed  the  prison,  Theodulph 
sang  his  hymn,  with  such  effect,  as  to  procure  from  the 
Emperor  a  mandate  for  his  liberty  and  restoration  to  his 
former  honors.  But  it  is  certain  that  Louis  was  not  at 
Angers  at  that  time,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  Theo- 
dulph was  restored  to  office. 

Among  the  numerous  works  from  his  pen,  published  by 
Simiond  (1646)  at  Paris,  are  six  books  of  "  Songs,"  and  ten 
Poems. 


THOMAS   [DE  CELANO]. 

1^0  hymn  of  the  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages  has  so  gen- 
erally commended  itself  to  the  admiration  of  the  learned 
and  the  devout  as 

"  Dies  irae!  dies  iUa! " 
['•  That  day  of  wrath,  that  dreadful  day."— Tr.  W.  Scott.] 

Poets  have  vied  with  scholars  of  every  grade  and  national- 
ity in  its  praises.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  whose  version  of  a 
part  of  it,  taken  from  his  "  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,"  is 
noted  above,  expressed  for  it  unbounded  admiration.  Dean 
Milman  said :  "  There  is  nothing,  in  my  judgment,  to  be 
compared  with  the  monkish '  Dies  irse !  dies  iUa ! ' "  Albert 
Knapp,  the  hymnologist,  compares  it  to  a  blast  from  the 
trump  of  the  resurrection.  Dean  Trench  declares  that  its 
"  merits  have  given  the  Dies  Ircc  a  foremost  place  among 
the  master-pieces  of  sacred  song."  Mrs.  Charles  speaks  of 
"  the  solemn  and  magnificent  chant  of  the  great  mediaeval 
hymn,  '  the  Dies  Irse.' "  Daniel,  in  his  "  Thesaurus  Hymn- 
ologicus,"  says,  "that,  by  universal  consent,  it  is  regarded 
as  the  highest  ornament  of  sacred  poetry,  and  the  most 
precious  treasure  of  the  Latin  Church." 


THOMAS  [DE  CELANO].  611 

The  Poets  of  all  Cliristian  countries  of  the  world  have 
sought  to  give  an  exact  translation,  in  their  own  vernacular, 
of  this  incomparable  production.  Dr.  Lisco  (1840),  in  a  learn- 
ed monogram  on  the  "  Dies  Irse,"  reproduces  seventy  trans- 
lations, mostly  into  G-erman  ;  and,  three  years  later,  seven- 
teen more.  The  French  versions  are  numerous,  and  the 
English,  almost  numberless.  But,  as  in  all  similar  cases, 
no  translation  can  express  the  force,  the  sublimity,  and  the 
awful  grandeur  of  the  majestic  original.  Knapp  affirms 
that  its  original  power  is  inimitable  in  any  translation. 
So  say  all  the  critics. 

It  is  a  hymn  of  eighteen  three-line  stanzas,  after  the  fol- 
lowing pattern : 

"Dies  irge,  dies  ilia! 
Solvet  sseclum  in  faviUa, 
Teste  David  cum  Sybilla. 

"  Quantus  tremor  est  futurus, 
Quando  Judex  est  venturus, 
Cuncta  stricte  discussurus." 

Great  doubts  have  been  entertained,  among  the  learned 
in  such  matters,  as  to  its  authorship.  Some  have  ascribed 
it  to  the  great  Bernard  ;  others  to  Gregory,  the  Great.  It 
has,  however,  been  satisfactorily  traced  to  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  to  the  Order  of  Minorites,  or  Franciscans,  as 
they  are  commonly  called.  Bartholomew,  of  Pisa,  as  early 
as  1401,  ascribes  it  to  Thomas  de  Celano,  the  author  of  the 
Life  of  St.  Francis.  Lucas  Wadding,  in  his  "Annales 
Minorum,  sive  trium  Ordinum  a  S.  Francisco  instituto- 
rum"  (Lyons,  1625-1648),  explicitly,  and  without  hesita- 
tion, includes  this  hymn  among  the  writings  of  Thomas  de 
Celano.  Of  those  who  accede  to  this  high  authority  may 
be  named,  Mohnike,  Rambach,  Fink,  Gieseler,  Tholuck, 
Lisco,  Daniel,  and  Knapp.  Trench  and  Mone  regard  the 
proof  as  insufficient. 

The  weight  of  authority  favors  greatly  the  claims  of 
Thomas  de  Celano.  He  is  so  called,  from  Celano,  a  town 
on  the  borders  of  Lake  Fucino,  Abruzzo  Ultra,  Italy.    The 


612  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

date  of  liis  birth  is  unknown,  but  must  be  assigned  to  the 
latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century.     He  was  one  of  the  first 
to  attach  himself  to  the  Order  of  Minor  Friars,  founded 
(1208)  by  Francis  of  Assisi.     He  was  put  in  charge,  suc- 
cessively, of  the  Franciscan  Convents  of  Worms,  Metz,  and 
Cologne ;  and  made  Custos  of  the  Rhine  District  of  the 
Order.     Francis  died  in  1226,  and  was  canonized  in  1230 
Returning,  at  this  latter  date,  to  Assisi,  Thomas,  by  ap- 
pointment of  the  Pope,  Gregory  IX.,  wrote  the  Life  of  St 
Francis,  the  manuscript  of  which  is  said  to  be  in  the  keep- 
ing of  the  Cistercian  monastery  at  Languepont,  Soissons. 
Nothing  further  is  known  of  him,  not  even  the  date  of  his 
death 


ALEXANDER  RAMSAY  THOMPSON. 
1822 . 

The  Rev.  De.  Thompson  is  a  native  of  New  York  City, 
a  son  of  Col.  Alexander  R.  Thompson  (1792-1837),  and  was 
born  in  1822.  He  graduated  (1842)  at  the  University  of 
the  City  of  New  York,  and  studied  theology  at  Princeton 
Seminary,  N.  J.,  finishing  his  course  in  1845.  The  same 
year,  he  was  licensed  by  the  Second  Presbytery  of  New 
York,  and  preached  awhile,  as  an  assistant  to  the  Rev. 
Jacob  Brodhead,  D.D.,  the  pastor  of  the  Central  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  then  to  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Macauley,  D.D.,  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Eighth  Street,  Astor  Place,  New  York. 

Having  received  a  caU  from  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Morristown,  N.  J.,  he  was  ordained,  January  10, 
1846,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown.  After  a  pastor- 
ate of  less  than  two  years,  he  was  dismissed  from  his  charge 
and  undertook  (1848)  the  gathering  of  a  church  at  Bedford, 
in  East  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  but,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  he  be- 
came the  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  Tomp- 


ALEXANDEE  EAMSAY  THOMPSON.  613 

kinsville,  Staten  Island,  N.  Y.,  wliere  lie  continued  three 
years.  He  took  charge,  in  1851,  of  the  Keformed  Dutch 
Church  of  Stapleton,  Staten  Island,  N.  Y.,  and  remained 
seven  years.  He  served  (1859-1862)  as  Stated  Supply  of 
the  Second  Congregational  Church  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.; 
and,  in  1862,  became  the  associate  pastor  of  St.  Paul's  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church,  New  York  City,  then  worshiping 
in  Twenty-first  Street,  and  later  in  a  new  structure  on 
li^ortieth  Street.  At  the  decease  of  the  senior  pastor,  the 
Rev,  George  W.  Bethune,  D.D.,  the  same  year,  he  became 
the  sole  pastor.  In  1874,  he  accepted  a  call  from  the  North 
Reformed  Church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  The  honorary  degree 
of  D.D.  was  conferred  on  him  in  1873. 

Besides  contributions  to  various  periodicals,  he  has  pub- 
lished an  "Address  at  the  Funeral  of  S.  R.  Smith,  D.D." 
(1852),  and  a  "  Tribute  to  the  Memory  of  Rev.  George  W. 
Bethune,  D.D."  (1862).  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  General  Synod  that  prepared,  for  the  denomi- 
nation, the  "  Hymns  of  the  Church,  with  Tunes,"  approved 
and  authorized  for  use  in  the  Church,  June,  1869, — to 
which  he  contributed  the  hymn, 

"  Wayfarers  in  the  wilderness,"  etc., 

and  five  others,  mostly  translations  from  the  Latin.  One 
of  his  best  is  a  translation  of  Ambrose's 

"Aurora  coelum  purpurat,"  etc., 

of  which  the  first  four  stanzas  are  here  subjoined : 

"  The  morning  purples  aU  the  sky, 

The  air  with  praises  rings, 

Defeated  hell  stands  sullen  by. 

The  world  exulting  sings: 

"  While  he,  the  King,  all  strong  to  save, 
Rends  the  dark  doors  away, 
And,  through  the  breaches  of  the  grave, 
Strides  forth  into  the  day. 


614  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Death's  captive,  in  his  gloomy  prison, 
Fast  fettered,  he  has  lain ; 
But  he  has  mastered  death,  is  risen, 
And  death  wears  now  the  chain. 

"  The  shining  angels  cry, — '  Away 
With  grief ;  no  spices  bring : 
Not  tears,  but  songs,  this  joyful  day, 
Should  greet  the  rising  King.' " 


DOROTHY  AJ^N  THRUPP. 
1779-1847. 

Miss  Theupp  was  tlie  daughter  of  Mr.  Joseph  Thrupp, 
of  Paddington  Green,  and  was  born,  June  20,  1779,  at  Lon- 
don, England.  She  is  known  to  history  only  by  the  few 
hymns  that  she  contributed  to  "Hymns  for  the  Young" 
(1830),  which  she  edited  for  the  London  Religious  Tract 
Society,  and  to  Mrs.  Herbert  Mayo's  "  Selection  of  Hymns 
and  Poetry  for  the  Use  of  Infant  and  Juvenile  Schools," 
London,  1838.  She  died,  at  London,  December  14,  1847. 
She  wrote  almost,  if  not  quite,  exclusively  for  the  young. 
Her  hymn, 

"Saviour!  like  a  shepherd  lead  us,"  etc., 

is  very  good  of  its  kind  ;  so  is  the  following : 

"  Let  us  sing,  with  one  accord. 
Praise  to  Jesus  Chi'ist,  our  Lord ; 
He  is  worthy  whom  we  praise ; 
Hearts  and  voices  let  us  raise. 

"  He  hath  made  us  by  his  power. 
He  hath  kept  us  to  this  hour, 
He  redeems  us  from  the  grave, 
He  who  died  now  hves  to  save. 


AUGUSTUS  MONTAGUE  TOPLADY.  615 

"  Wliat  he  bids  us  let  us  do ; 
Where  he  leads  us  let  us  go; 
As  he  loves  us,  let  us  love 
All  below  and  all  above. 

"  Angels  praise  him,  so  will  we, 
Sinfiil  children  though  we  be ; 
Poor  and  weak,  we'll  sing  the  more, — 
Jesus  helps  the  weak  and  poor. 

"  Dear  to  him  is  childhood's  prayer; 
Children's  hearts  to  him  are  dear; 
Heart  and  voice,  let  all  be  given, 
All  will  find  the  way  to  heaven." 


AUGUSTUS  MONTAGUE  TOPLADY. 

1740-1778. 

ToPLADY  was  tlie  author  of  that  most  precious  lyric, 

"  Rock  of  ages!  cleft  for  me!"  etc,— 

one  of  the  most  popular  hymns  in  the  English  language,  and 
one  that  has  found  its  way  into  nearly  all  the  Collections. 
It  has  been  adopted  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,^  in  its 
English  original ;  and,  in  the  admirable  Latin  version  of 
it  (1848)  by  the  Right  Hon.  William  Ewart  Gladstone,  is 
likely  to  find  a  place  in  the  Breviary. 

Augustus  Montague  Toplady  was  the  son  of  Richard 
Toplady,  a  commissioned  officer  in  the  British  Army,  who 
was  married,  December  21, 1737,  to  Catharine  Bate.  Their 
first  child,  Francis,  died  an  infant.  In  1740,  Major  Toplady 
was  ordered  to  Spain,  and  died  at  the  siege  of  Carthagena. 
Their  second  child  was  born,  November  4,  1740,  at  Farnham, 
Surrey,  just  before  his  father's  death.  He  derived  his  name 
from  his  two  godfathers,  Augustus  Middleton  and  Adol- 
phus  Montague. 


616  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Left  to  the  sole  care  of  his  widowed  mother  from  his 
infancy,  his  early  education  was  not  neglected.  He  was 
entered  at  Westminster  School,  of  high  repute,  in  the  me- 
tropolis, and  evinced  a  remarkable  aptitude  for  learning. 
His  mother  had  claims  to  an  estate  in  Ireland,  and  took 
her  son  with  her,  on  her  journey  thither.  While  at  Cody- 
main,  in  Ireland,  he  strayed  into  a  barn,  where  an  unlet- 
tered layman,  named  James  Morris,  was  preaching  to  a 
handful  of  people,  from  the  text, — Ephesians  ii.  13  :  "  But 
now,  in  Christ  Jesus,  ye  who  sometime  were  far  off  are 
made  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ."  "  Under  that  sermon," 
he  says,  "I  was,  I  trust,  brought  nigh  by  the  blood  of 
Christ,  in  August,  1756."  In  another  passage,  he  says,  in- 
correctly, it  was  in  "  1755."  He  now  began  a  new  life,  and 
entered  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  as  a  student  for  the  min- 
istry. 

As  a  relaxation  from  severer  study,  he  composed  during 
the  next  three  years  a  considerable  number  of  spiritual 
odes,  poems  and  hymns.  These  early  effusions  he  com- 
mitted to  the  press  in  1759.  They  were  published  by 
Sarah  Powell,  at  Dublin,  and  entitled, — "  Poems  on  Sacred 
Subjects  :  Wherein  the  Fundamental  Doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, with  many  other  interesting  Points,  are  occasion- 
ally introduced."    The  work  contained  105  pieces. 

"  Though  awakened  in  1755,"  he  says,  "  I  was  not  led  into 
a  full  and  clear  view  of  all  the  doctrines  of  grace,  till  the 
year  1758,  when,  through  the  great  goodness  of  God,  my 
Arminian  prejudices  received  an  effectual  shock,  in  reading 
Dr.  Manton's  Sermons  on  the  xviith  of  St.  John."  From 
this  time,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  he  was  a  decided  Calvin- 
ist.  Tyerman  (Life  and  Times  of  Wesley,  II.  315)  records 
a  letter  written,  September  13, 1758,  in  answer  to  one  from 
Mr.  J.  Wesley,  from  which  it  would  seem,  that  he  had  not 
yet  read  Manton. 

He  received  imposition  of  the  hands  of  the  bishop,  on 
Trinity  Sunday,  June  6,  1762 ;  and,  shortly  after,  was  pre- 
sented to  the  living  of  Blagdon,  Somersetshire.  Discover- 
ing that  the   place  had  been  procured  by  purchase,  he 


AUGUSTUS  MONTAGUE  TOPLADY.  617 

resigned  it,  and  not  long  after  became  the  Vicar  of  Harp- 
ford,  on  the  Otter,  and  of  the  adjacent  parish  of  Fen 
Ottery,  near  Honiton,  Devonshire.  He  exchanged  these 
with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lnce,  for  the  living  of  Broad  Hembury, 
April  6,  1768,  also  in  the  same  neighborhood.  The  living 
was  rated  at  £80.  Christophers  speaks  of  "  the  delicious 
retreats  on  the  banks  of  the  Otter,  amidst  the  beautiful 
hills  which  are  overlooked  by  the  western  slopes  of  the 
Black  Down  range,"  where  stands  "  the  quiet  parish  church 
of  Broad  Hembury."  Here,  amid  the  humble  lace-workers 
of  the  district,  he  labored  earnestly,  during  the  next  seven 
years,  as  his  strength  permitted. 

It  was  at  Broad  Hembury,  that  Toplady's  soul-stirring 
hymns  were  composed.  "  Saturday,  June  18,  1768,"  he 
writes, — "All  day  at  home.  Wrote  several  hymns;  and, 
while  writing  that,  which  begins  thus  : 

'  When  faith  's  alert,  and  hope  shines  clear,'  etc., 

I  was,  through  grace,  very  comfortable  in  my  soul." 

Till  now  he  was  altogether  unknown  to  fame.  In  March, 
1768,  six  students  were  expelled  from  St.  Edmund's  Hall, 
Oxford,  in  reality,  for  being  "righteous  overmuch,"  It 
created  a  great  commotion  among  Low  Churchmen.  Top- 
lady,  among  others,  denounced  it,  and  wi-ote  in  defence  of 
the  Calvinism  of  the  Articles.  In  reply  to  an  Arminian 
tractate  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  JN'owel,  he  published  (1769)  "  The 
Church  of  England  vindicated  from  the  charge  of  Armin- 
ianism."  The  same  year,  he  published  a  translation  of  a 
Latin  Essay  by  Jerome  Zanchius,  with  the  title, — "The 
Doctrine  of  Absolute  Predestination  stated  and  asserted ; 
with  a  Preliminary  Discourse  on  the  Divine  Attributes ; 
accompanied  with  the  Life  of  Zanchius."  He  had  written 
it  (1760)  at  the  University  in  Dublin. 

A  letter  to  Mr.  Wesley  followed  in  1770,  and  "More 
Work  for  Mr.  John  Wesley,"  in  1772.  "A  Caveat  against 
Unsound  Doctrine,"  appeared  in  1770,  and  three  sermons 
in  1771.  "Free  Thoughts,"  etc.,  on  "  the  Abolition  of  Ec- 
clesiastical Subscription,"  in  1771,  and  "  Clerical  Subscrip- 


618  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

tion  no  Grievance"  (1772),  preceded  Ms  elaborate  work 
(1774)  entitled, — "Historical  Proof  of  the  Doctrinal  Cal- 
vinism of  the  Church  of  England,"  in  two  volumes.  The 
same  year,  he  published  two  sermons  preached  at  London, 
bearing  on  the  same  discussion.  "  The  Scheme  of  Chris- 
tian and  Philosophical  Necessity  Asserted,"  appeared  in 
1775. 

His  repeated  visits  to  the  metropolis,  where  his  mother 
resided,  and  his  frequent  publications,  brought  him  to  the 
notice  of  Lady  Huntingdon  and  the  circle  of  earnest  preach- 
ers whom  she  delighted  to  encourage  and  patronize.  He 
was  invited  to  preach  in  her  chapels,  at  London,  at  Brigh- 
ton and  Bath,  and  became  at  once  one  of  the  most  popular 
of  evangelical  preachers.  He  wrote  continually,  also,  from 
early  in  1774,  for  TTie  Gospel  Magazine  (then  newly  re- 
vived), as  "A.  T.,"  or  as  "Minimus"  or  "Concionator"; 
and  became,  December,  1775,  its  editor,  for  seven  months. 

He  accepted,  in  April,  1776,  a  Lectureship  for  Sunday 
and  Wednesday  evenings,  in  the  French  Calvinist  Reformed 
Church,  Orange  Street,  Leicester  Fields,  London  ;  and  con- 
tinued to  minister  there  for  the  next  two  years.  In  1776, 
he  published  his  Compilation  of  "  Psalms  and  Hymns  for 
Public  and  Private  AVorship,"  on  which  he  had  bestowed 
much  labor  for  some  years.  It  contained  419  hymns,  with- 
out the  names  of  their  authors,  and  many  of  the  hymns 
considerably  altered.  The  volume  obtained  much  popular- 
ity, and  has  often  been  republished. 

His  health  continued  to  decline,  so  that  he  could  no 
longer  continue  his  public  ministry.  He  preached  but  lit- 
tle after  Easter,  1778,  and  died,  as  he  had  lived,  full  of  faith, 
and  hope,  and  joy,  at  his  retreat  at  Knightsbridge,  near 
London,  August  11, 1778,  in  the  thirty-eighth  year  of  his 
age. 

His  "Works"  were  published,  in  six  volumes,  by  his 
friend  and  admirer,  Mr.  Walter  Row,  in  1794.  The  Collec- 
tion of  Poems  in  this  edition  is  very  inaccurate,  and  has  led 
to  much  confusion,  both  as  to  text  and  authorship.  A  cor- 
rect edition  of  his  Poems  and  Hymns  was  published,  in 


DANIEL  TURNER  619 

1860,  by  Mr.  Daniel  Sedgwick,  of  London.  Much  of  his 
poetry  is  quite  similar  to  Charles  Wesley's,  Avith  which, 
from  the  period  of  his  conversion,  he  had  been  quite  famil- 
iar. The  follomng  well-kno^^^l  hymn  (1776),  characteristic 
in  style  and  sentiment,  is  from  his  Collection : 

"A  debtor  to  mercy  alone, 

Of  covenant-mercy  I  sing; 
Nor  fear,  with  thy  righteousness  on, 

My  person  and  offerings  to  bring: 
The  terroi-s  of  law  and  of  God 

With  me  can  have  nothing  to  do ; 
My  Saviour's  obedience  and  blood 

Hide  all  my  transgressions  from.  view. 

"  The  work,  which  his  goodness  began. 

The  arm  of  his  strength  will  complete; 
His  promise  is  Yea  and  Amen, 

And  never  was  forfeited  yet : 
Things  future,  nor  things  that  are  now, 

Not  all  things  below  nor  above. 
Can  make  him  his  purpose  forego. 

Or  sever  my  soul  from  his  love. 

"My  name  from  the  palms  of  his  hands 

Eternity  will  not  erase ; 
Impressed  on  his  heart  it  remains, 

In  marks  of  indelible  grace : 
Yes,  I  to  the  end  shall  endure, 

As  sure  as  the  earnest  is  given ; 
Moi*e  happy,  but  not  more  secttre. 

The  glorified  spirits  in  heaven." 


DANIEL  TURNER. 
1710-1798. 


Me.  Turn-er  was  a  Baptist  minister,  who,  for  half  a  cen- 
tury, had  charge  of  a  church  at  Abingdon,  Berkshire,  Eng- 
land, where  he  was  universally  regarded  with  respect  and 


620  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

veneration.  He  was  born  at  Blackwater  Park,  near  St. 
Albans,  Hertfordshire,  March  1, 1710.  At  an  early  age,  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Hemel  Hemp- 
stead, a  short  distance  to  the  west  of  his  father's  farm,  and 
where,  having  obtained  a  good  classical  education,  he  kept, 
in  1738,  a  boarding-school.  Two  years  later  (1740),  he  re- 
moved to  Reading,  on  the  Thames,  and  shortly  after  (1741) 
became  the  pastor  of  the  Hosier  Lane  Baptist  Church. 
In  1748,  he  removed  to  Abingdon,  six  miles  south  of  Ox- 
ford, where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  long  and  useful 
life.  He  died,  on  Wednesday,  September  5,  1798,  in  the 
eighty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  "  His  ministerial  abilities," 
says  the  Evangelical  Magazine,  "  useful  writings,  excellent 
character,  and  amiable  disposition,  rendered  him  through 
life  universally  respected,  and  hold  him  up  as  an  example 
to  Christians  in  general,  and  Christian  ministers  in  par- 
ticular." 

He  published  (1739)  an  "  Abstract  of  Grammar  and  Rhet- 
oric"; also,  "Divine  Songs,  Hymns,  and  other  Poems" 
(1747) ;  "A  Compendium  of  Social  Religion  "  (1758) ;  "  Let- 
ters Religious  and  Moral"  (1766) ;  "Short  Meditations  on 
Select  Portions  of  Scripture "  (1771) ;  and  "  Dissertations 
on  Religion  "  (1775).  His  "  Essays  on  Religion,"  in  two  vol- 
umes, appeared  in  1780 ;  and  his  "  Expositions  on  Scrip- 
ture," in  1790.  A  volume  of  his  "  Poems  Devotional  and 
Moral "  was  privately  printed  in  1794,  several  of  which  were 
transferred  to  Tlie  Protestant  Dissenter's  Magazine.  Nine 
of  his  hymns  appeared  in  Rippon's  Selection  (1787).  The 
following  stanzas,  on  the  "  Majesty  of  God,"  are  a  fair  spec- 
imen of  his  style : 

"He  speaks !  and  worlds  obedient  rise — 
Earth,  suns  and  moons,  and  starry  skies ; 
Anon  his  word  of  sovereign  power 
Sinks  them  again  to  rise  no  more. 

"  Aroxmd  his  throne,  in  solemn  state, 
Myriads  of  flaming  spirits  wait, 
Swift  to  obey  his  sovereign  will, 
And  his  high  purposes  fulfil : — 


WILLIAM  URWICK.  621 

"  His  purposes,  a  vast  profound, 
With  awful  darkness  veiled  around ! 
Yet  wisdom,  truth,  and  mercy,  too, 
Break  with  delightful  glory  through. 

"He  rules  o'er  all  created  things. 
O'er  meanest  worms  and  mightiest  kings, 
He  leads  the  stars  then'  ample  rounds, 
He  gives  the  raging  waters  hounds. 

"  Seraphs  to  him  their  rapture  owe ; 
His  vengeance  hurns  in  hell  helow; 
While  here  to  man's  apostate  race, 
His  Son  reveals  his  richest  grace." 


WILLIAM  UEWICK. 
1791-1868. 

The  Rev.  William  Uewick,  D.D.,  for  half  a  century, 
labored  as  an  Independent  minister  in  Ireland,  with  great 
success,  universally  respected  and  beloved.  He  was  the 
only  living  son  of  William  and  Elinor  (Eddowes)  Urwick, 
of  Shrewsbury,  Shropshire,  England,  where  he  was  born, 
December  8, 1791.  He  was  the  great  nephew  of  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Urwick  (1727-1807),  of  Clapham,  near  London.  He 
was  of  such  a  puny  and  sickly  constitution,  during  his 
boyhood,  that  his  life  was  frequently  regarded  as  in  the 
utmost  peril.  In  1799,  his  father  died,  but  his  mother 
lived  to  be  ninety-iive  years  old.  He  was  sent  (1807)  to  a 
boarding-school  at  Worcester,  kept  by  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Belsher.  The  next  year  he  obtained  a  situation  at  Bir- 
mingham, and,  in  1809,  became  a  member  of  the  Independ- 
ent church  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  John  AngeU  James, 
whose  personal  friendship  he  enjoyed. 

After  frequent  trials  of  his  gifts,  Mr.  James  recommended 
Mm  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry,  and,  July  29, 1812,  he 


622  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

entered  Hoxton  Academy,  of  wMch,  at  the  time,  tlie  Rev. 
Dr.  Robert  Simpson  was  Theological  Tutor.  In  October, 
1815,  he  visited  Sligo,  in  the  Northwest  of  Ireland,  and 
preached  for  the  Independent  Church  of  that  town  several 
months.  He  was  ordained  their  pastor,  June  19,  1816.  He 
married,  June  16, 1818,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Thomas  Cooke, 
of  Shrewsbury,  whom  he  had  known  from  his  childhood. 

After  a  successful  ministry  of  eleven  years,  he  accepted 
a  call  to  York  Street  Chapel,  Dublin,  and  removed  thither 
at  the  close  of  October,  1826.  Here,  for  thirty-nine  years, 
he  continued  the  devoted  and  endeared  pastor  of  the  same 
church,  abounding  in  labors  and  active  in  every  good  proj- 
ect, and  rising,  steadily  and  surely,  to  a  position  of  com- 
manding influence.  He  received  the  honorary  degree  of 
D.D.,  in  1832,  from  Dartmouth  College,  U.  S.  A. 

He  published :  "  A  Concise  View  of  the  Doctrine  of  Scrip- 
ture concerning  the  Ordinance  of  Baptism "  (1823) ;  "  An 
Authentic  Report  of  the  Easky  Discussion  "  (1825) ;  "  The 
Evils,  Occasions,  and  Cure  of  Intemperance"  (1829);  "A 
Collection  of  Hymns  adapted  to  Congregational  Worship  " 
(1829) ;  "  The  True  Nature  of  Christ's  Person  and  Atone- 
ment "  (1831) ;  "  One  Hundred  Reasons  from  Scripture  for 
believing  in  the  Divinity  of  Christ "  (1832) ;  "  Value  and 
Claims  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  Reasons  of  Separation 
from  the  Church  of  Rome  "  (1835) ;  "  The  Duty  of  Chris- 
tians in  regard  to  the  Use  of  Property  "  (1836) ;  "  Extem- 
porary Prayer  "  (1836) ;  "  Grace  in  the  Bud  "  (1838) ;  "  The 
Saviour's  Right  to  Divine  Worship  Vindicated "  (1839) ; 
"God  in  the  Storm"  (1839);  "The  Second  Advent  of 
Christ"  (1839) ;  "The  Captain  and  his  Crew"  (1840) ;  "The 
Ecclesiastical  Movement  in  Scotland  "  (1843) ;  "  The  Con- 
nection between  Religion  and  the  State  "  (1845) ;  "  Divine 
Laws  Ordained  for  Blessing  "  (1848) ;  "  The  Papal  Aggres- 
sion "  (1850) ;  "  The  Triple  Crown,  or  the  Power,  Course, 
and  Doom  of  the  Papacy  "  (1852) ;  "  China,"  in  "  Two  Lec- 
tures" (1854);  "Earth's  Rulers  Judged"  (1855);  "Truth 
and  Love,"—"  in  reply  to  Dr.  Edgar"  (1858) ;  "  History  of 
Dublin  "  for  the  Religious  Tract  Society ;  "  Independency 


WILLIAM  UEWICK.  623 

in  Dublin  in  the  Olden  Time"  (1862);  "Clirist's  World 
School,"  in  Verse  (1866) ;  and  "  Biographic  Sketches  of  J. 
D.  La  Touche,  Esq."  (1868). 

In  the  compilation  of  his  Hymn-Book,  he  examined  about 
150  volumes,  and  introduced  a  few  hymns  of  his  own.  He 
had  quite  a  rhyming  propensity,  particularly  in  the  decline 
of  life.  He  frequently  prepared  one  or  more  hymns  to  be 
sung  on  New  Year's  Day,  or  on  Special  Occasions. 

On  the  completion  of  his  fiftieth  year  of  ministerial  ser- 
vice, a  Jubilee  Meeting  was  held,  and,  besides  numerous 
flattering  testimonials  accorded  him,  he  received  a  gift  of 
£2,000  from  his  congregation.  He  now  resigned  his  pas- 
toral charge,  but  continued  in  active  service  as  long  as  his 
health  allowed.  He  died,  at  his  home  near  Dublin,  July 
16,  1868. 

The  following  hymn  was  prepared  for  New  Year's  Day, 

1862: 

"  Hitherto  the  Lord  hath  helped  us, 
Here  our  souls  this  morn  record ; 
Hitherto  the  Lord  hath  blessed  us ; 
Raise  the  song  with  ftiU  accord : 

Hearts  and  voices ! 
All  unite  to  praise  the  Lord. 

"  For  his  mercy,  still  enduring, 

Still  his  truth  and  power  the  same, 
Stand  for  ever  firm,  assuring 
All  who  love  his  holy  name, 

He  will  never 
Let  their  hope  be  put  to  shame. 

"Forwards,  forwards,  then,  with  gladness, 
Gird  your  loins  anew  this  day ; 
Rid  of  doubt,  and  sloth,  and  sadness, 
Strong  in  heart,  through  him,  yoTir  stay, 

Brave  the  future. 
Nor  distrvist  him,  come  what  may." 


624  •    THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

BENJAMIN  WALLIN. 

1711-1782. 

The  congregation  that  met  at  Horselydown,  London, 
over  whom  Benjamin  Keach  was  (1668)  ordained  pastor,  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  among  the  English  Baptists  that 
practised  singing  in  public  worshij).  Its  introduction  oc- 
casioned great  opposition  and  a  voluminous  pamphlet  con- 
troversy. In  1691,  a  portion  of  the  church  withdrew,  and 
organized  a  new  congregation  at  Maze  Pond,  Southwark, 
where  singing  was  not  to  be  tolerated.  Of  this  congrega- 
tion, the  Rev.  Edward  Wallin  (1678-1733)  became  the 
pastor,  in  1703. 

Benjamin  Wallin  was  his  son,  and  was  born  (1711)  in 
Southwark,  London.  By  the  negligence  of  a  nurse,  he  be- 
came a  cripple  from  infancy.  He  was  educated  chiefly  by 
the  Rev.  John  Needham,  a  Baptist  minister  of  Hitchin, 
Hertfordshire.  Mr.  Abraham  West,  his  father's  successor 
(1736),  had  accepted  the  charge  on  condition  of  the  intro- 
duction of  singing  into  public  worship.  He  died  in  1739, 
and,  the  following  year,  Benjamin  Wallin  was  chosen  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  church  where  he  had  been  trained  from 
infancy. 

Of  this  church,  he  remained  the  pastor  until  his  death, 
February  19,  1782,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years, — "a 
man,"  says  his  tombstone,  "  (human  frailty  abated)  exempt 
from  all  the  faults,  and  endowed  with  all  the  virtues  of 
a  Christian  minister." 

Besides  about  twenty  occasional  Sermons,  the  first  of 
which  was  printed  in  1746,  and  the  last  in  1780  (the  most 
of  which  were  Funeral  Discourses),  he  published  several 
short  Essays  on  Practical  Religion,  and  (1769)  a  volume  of 
"  Lectures  on  Primitive  Christianity,"  "  on  the  Ei)istle  to  the 
Church  at  Sardis,"  and  "  on  the  Faithful  in  the  Days  of 
Malachi ";  of  which  a  reprint  was  issued  (1801)  at  Wil- 
mington, Del. 

He  published    also  (1850)    a  volume  of   "Evangelical 


BENJAMIN  WALLm.  625 

Hymns  and  Songs,  in  Two  Parts :  The  First,  composed  on 
various  Views  of  the  Christian  Life  and  Warfare ;  The 
Second,  in  Praise  of  the  Redeemer:  Published  for  the 
Comfort  and  Entertainment  of  True  Christians ;  with 
Authorities  at  large  from  the  Scriptures."  The  most  of 
the  "  hymns  were  composed  on  special  occasions,  and  with 
no  further  design  than  that  of  private  use."  Two  of  them 
were  contributed  by  the  author  to  the  June  Number  of  the 
Oospel  Magazine  for  1776.  Both  hymns  were  considerably 
modified.  Toplady  transferred  them  both,  in  this  modified 
form,  to  his  Collection,  and  thus  made  them  familiar  to  the 
churches  as  now  used.  As  the  author  was  a  well-known 
pastor  in  London,  at  the  time,  it  is  probable  that  these 
modifications  were  made  by  himself,  or  with  his  sanc- 
tion. The  following  hymn,  suggested  by  Rom.  vii.  4,  6, 
was  reproduced  by  D  obeli : 

"  Sing  to  the  Lord,  ye  heirs  of  faith! 
Of  Abraham's  chosen  seed, 
The  law,  that  sentenced  you  to  death, 
Is  now  throug-h  Jesus  dead. 

"  Our  Surety,  by  his  cross,  has  broke 
The  Law's  condemning  power; 
For  on  himself  our  sins  he  took, 
And  the  hand-writing  tore. 

"  He  bore  our  sins  and  set  us  free ; 
No  charge  on  us  can  lie ; 
His  blood  's  an  all-sufficient  plea 
Our  souls  to  justify. 

"  By  legal  works  no  more  we  strive 
To  be  discharged  from  guilt ; 
Dead  to  the  law,  to  Christ  we  live, 
Whose  blood  for  us  was  spilt. 

"  Adore  the  Father's  sovereign  love, 
Who  gave  his  only  Son, 
Our  curse  and  misery  to  remove, 
And  make  his  mercy  known." 

40 


626  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

RALPH  WARDLAW. 

1779-1853. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Waedlaw  was  born,  December  22, 1779, 
at  Dalkeith,  Midlotliian,  Scotland.  His  mother,  Anne  Fisher, 
was  the  daughter  of  the  Rev.  James  Fisher,  the  son-in-law 
and  successor  (as  Professor  of  Theology)  of  the  renowned 
Ebenezer  Erskine,  the  father  and  founder  of  the  Secession 
Church  of  Scotland.  He  is  said,  also,  to  have  been  a  de- 
scendant, by  his  mother,  of  James  V.,  King  of  Scotland. 
Six  months  after  his  birth,  his  father,  William  Wardlaw 
(1741-1821),  removed  to  Glasgow,  where  he  became  one  of 
its  most  honorable  merchants  and  magistrates,  as  well  as 
one  of  the  pillars  of  the  Secession  Church. 

At  eight,  he  was  sent  to  the  High  School  of  Glasgow, 
and  at  twelve  (1791)  to  the  University  of  Glasgow,  where 
he  graduated,  a  mere  boy  (1795).  Having  experienced  the 
power  of  divine  grace,  he  entered  the  Divinity  School  of 
the  Secession  Church,  and  studied  for  the  ministry  under 
the  instruction  of  the  venerable  Rev.  Dr.  Lawson,  of  Sel- 
kirk. As  he  was  about  to  close  his  preparatory  studies, 
and  apply  for  license  to  preach,  the  Rev.  Greville  Ewing 
and  the  Rev.  William  Junes  left  the  Established  Church, 
and  became  (1798)  the  founders  of  the  Scottish  Congrega- 
tional Denomination.  Young  Wardlaw  became  deeply 
interested  in  the  movement,  and  connected  himself  with 
the  Congregational  Church  in  Glasgow,  of  which  Mr.  Ew- 
ing had  become  the  pastor.  He  now  devoted  himself  to 
the  gathering  of  a  congregation  in  !N'orth  Albion  Street, 
of  which  he  was  ordained  (February  16, 1803)  the  pastor. 
A  humble  edifice  was  erected,  which  the  congregation 
soon  outgrew ;  and,  in  1819,  a  commodious  and  substan- 
tial structure  was  built  in  West  George  Street,  which  was 
occupied  by  one  of  the  largest,  most  intelligent,  and  most 
liberal  congregations  in  the  city.  In  1811,  he  was  associ- 
ated with  Mr.  Ewing  as  one  of  the  Tutors  of  the  Theolog- 


EALPH  WARDLAW.  627 

ical  School  of  tlie  denomination, — a  position  that  he  con- 
tinued to  fill,  almost  without  additional  remuneration,  to 
the  end  of  his  life. 

As  pastor  and  tutor,  he  rose  steadily  and  surely  to 
occupy  one  of  the  very  highest  positions  of  influence  out- 
side of  the  Established  Church.  Of  the  Congregational 
body  of  ministers,  he  was  the  acknowledged  leader  and 
chief.  As  a  preacher  he  was  universally  popular,  being 
regarded  as  one  of  the  clearest,  as  well  as  most  convincing, 
reasoners,  in  the  Scottish  pulpit.  As  a  writer,  he  exerted 
a  still  more  powerful  influence  for  good — accurate  in  his 
statements,  forcible  in  his  arguments,  and  exhaustive  in  his 
discussions.  His  fame  was  not  confined  to  Scotland,  but  ex- 
tended throughout  England,  and  even  New  England.  Yale 
College  conferred  (1818)  on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D. 

His  literary  industry  was  marvelous.  His  first  venture 
from  the  press  was  "  A  Selection  of  Hymns  for  Public  Wor- 
ship," prepared  in  1803,  to  take  the  place  of  an  inferior 
Collection,  then  in  use  among  the  Scotch  Congregational- 
ists,  knoA\Ti  as  "  The  Tabernacle  Selection."  The  new 
book  contained  315  hymns  and  seven  doxologies.  A  few 
of  the  hymns  were  from  his  own  pen.  The  names  of  the 
authors  were  not  given,  because,  in  part,  "  he  found  occasion 
to  use  such  freedom,  in  enlarging,  abridging,  and  altering, 
that  they  could  not,  with  propriety,  be  assigned  to  their 
first  composers."  The  Fifth  Edition  (1817)  contained  a 
"  Supplement"  of  171  additional  hymns.  The  "  Selection" 
evinces  good  taste  and  excellent  judgment.  It  has  had  a 
large  circulation.  Dr.  Wardlaw  had  exhibited  a  rhyming 
propensity,  while  at  college,  and  frequently  indulged  it,  a^ 
a  recreation,  in  later  years. 

He  published :  "  Lectures  on  Romans  iv.  9-25,"  a  Defence 
of  Infant  Baptism  (1807) ;  "  Sermons "  (1809) ;  "Discourses 
on  the  Principal  Points  of  the  Socinian  Controversy" 
(1814) ;  "  Unitarianism  Incapable  of  Vindication "  (1816) : 
"Expository  Lectures  on  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes,"  two 
volumes  (1821) ;  "  A  Dissertation  on  the  Scriptural  x4.uthor- 
ity,  Nature,  and  Uses  of  Baptism  "  (1825)  ;  "  Man  Respon- 


628  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

sible  for  Ms  Belief,"  two  Sermons  (1825) ;  "  XYII  Sermons" 
(1829) ;  "  Friendly  Letters  to  the  Society  of  Friends " 
(1830) ;  "  Two  Essays  on  the  Assurance  of  Faith,  and  on 
the  Extent  of  the  Atonement  and  Universal  Pardon" 
(1830)  ;  "  Discourses  on  the  Sabbath  "  (1832) ;  "  Civil  Estab- 
lishments of  Christianity  Tried  by  the  Word  of  God" 
(1832);  "Christian  Ethics;  or  Moral  Philosophy  on  the 
Principles  of  Divine  Revelation  "  (1833);  "  National  Church 
Establishments  Examined "  (1839) ;  "  Lectures  on  Female 
Prostitution  in  Glasgow  "  (1842);  "  Discourses  on  the  Atone- 
ment" (1843);  "Life  of  Joseph  and  the  Last  Days  of 
Jacob "  (1845) ;  "  Congregational  Independence "  (1848) ; 
and  an  "  Essay  on  the  Miracles  "  (1852).  Numerous  Arti- 
cles, also,  appeared  in  periodicals,  or  as  Prefaces  and  Intro- 
ductions to  other  publications.  He  died  December  17, 
1853. 

After  his  death,  his  "  Systematic  Theology  "  appeared  in 
1856-57 ;  "  Lectures  on  the  Book  of  Proverbs,"  in  1861 ; 
"  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,"  in  1861 ;  "  Lec- 
tures on  the  Prophecies  of  Zechariah,"  in  1862 ;  and  "  Lec- 
tures on  the  Epistle  of  James,"  in  1862.  "  Memoirs  of  the 
Life  and  Writings  of  the  Rev.  Ralph  Wardlaw,  D.D.,"  by 
W.  L.  Alexander,  D.D.,  were  published  in  1856.  The  fol- 
lowing stanzas  are  from  his  168th  hymn,  of  which  the  sec- 
ond and  third  are  omitted : 

"  Contemplate,  saints!  tlie  soiirce  divine, 
Whence  all  your  joys  have  flowed : 
With  wondering  minds  and  praising  hearts, 
'  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  1 ' 

"  With  holy  mind,  and  heart  renewed, 
Run  ye  the  narrow  road  ? 
His  sprinkled  blood  has  cleansed  your  souls; 
'  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God ! ' 

**  Each  heavenly  blessing  ye  receive 

Through  Jesus  is  bestowed ; 

In  every  good  your  soiils  possess, 

'  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  I' 


ISAAC  WATTS.  629 

Hope  ye,  in  heaven  with  God  at  last 

To  find  your  blessed  abode  ? 
Still,  as  the  ground  of  all  your  hopes, 
'  Behold  the  Lamb  of  Godl '  " 


ISAAC  WATTS. 
1674-1748. 

Isaac  Watts  is  a  name  of  most  precious  memory.  More 
than  two  centuries  liave  passed  since  his  birth,  and  yet  no 
one,  even  to  this  day,  so  often  leads  the  jDraises  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, as  the  bard  of  Southampton.  "Every  Sabbath," 
wrote  Montgomery  in  1825,  "  in  every  region  of  the  earth 
where  his  native  tongue  is  spoken,  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  voices  are  sending  the  sacrifices  of  prayer  and 
praise  to  God,  in  the  strains  which  he  prepared  for  them  a 
century  ago  ;  yea,  every  day,  '  he  being  dead  yet  speaketh ' 
by  the  lips  of  posterity,  in  these  sacred  lays,  some  of  which 
may  not  cease  to  be  sung  by  the  ransomed  on  their  journey 
to  Zion,  so  long  as  the  language  of  Britain  endures." 

"  Of  Watts,"  said  Dr.  Dibdin,  "  it  is  impossible  to  speak 
witliout  veneration  and  resi^ect.  His  Hymns  are  the  charm 
of  our  early  youth ;  his  Logic,  the  well-known  theme  of 
school-boy  study  ;  and  his  Sermons,  Essays,  and  other  the- 
ological compositions,  are  a  source  of  never-failing  gratifi- 
cation in  the  advance,  maturity,  and  decline  of  life.  The 
man  at  four-score  may  remember,  with  gratitude,  the  ad- 
vantage of  having  committed  the  hymns  of  this  pious  man 
to  his  infantile  memory. " 

"  My  grandfather,  Mr.  Thomas  Watts,"  says  Watts,  "  had 
such  acquaintance  with  the  mathematics,  painting,  music, 
and  poesy,  etc.,  as  gave  him  considerable  esteem  among  his 
contemporaries.  He  was  commander  of  a  ship  of  war  (1656), 
and  by  blomng  up  of  the  ship  in  the  Dutch  war  he  was 
drowned  in  his  youth."    His  widow  survived  until  July  13, 


630  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

1693,  taking  an  active  and  prominent  part  in  the  education 
of  iier  grandson. 

Their  son,  Isaac  Watts,  Sr.,  like  his  parents,  was  a  thor- 
ough Puritan  ;  a  deacon,  also,  in  the  Congregational  Church 
of  Southampton,  and  eminent  for  piety.  Born  in  1652,  he 
came  to  years  during  the  stormy  days  of  persecution  that 
characterized  the  later  years  of  Charles  II.  He  married  in 
1673,  and  had  born  to  him  four  sons  and  five  daughters. 
He  was  weU  educated,  and  addicted  to  the  art  of  versifica- 
tion. He  opened  a  boarding-school,  that  soon  acquii'ed 
considerable  reputation, — pupils  being  sent  to  it  even  from 
America  and  the  West  Indies.  His  pastor,  the  Rev.  Giles 
Say,  had  been  ejected  from  St.  Michael's  in  1662  ;  but,  in 
March,  1672,  on  the  "  Declaration  of  Indulgence,"  had  ob- 
tained license  to  preach  in  his  own  house.  The  "  Declara- 
tion" wa^  recalled  in  1674,  and  the  torch  of  persecution 
kindled  anew. 

It  was  at  this  crisis,  that  the  child,  Isaac  Watts,  was  born, 
July  17,  1674,  in  Southampton,  Hampshire,  England,  the 
first-born  of  his  mother.  He  was  nursed  and  trained  in 
times  that  greatly  tried  men's  souls.  Mr.  Say  and  deacon 
Watts  were  both  imprisoned,  a  short  time,  for  their  non- 
conformity; and  tradition  has  it,  that  the  mother  of  the 
poet  had  nursed  him,  seated  on  a  stone  near  the  prison 
door.  Under  his  father's  instruction,  he  developed  a  re- 
markable precocity.  At  the  age  of  four  years  (1678)  he 
"began  to  learn  Latin,"  and  made  rapid  progress  in  ele- 
mentary knowledge. 

He  was  sent  (1680),  at  six  years  of  age,  to  the  free  gram- 
mar-school of  Southampton,  then  under  the  charge  of  the 
Rev.  John  Pinhorne,  Rector  of  All  Saints'  Church,  a  gen- 
tleman of  considerable  ability,  and  much  revered  in  after 
life  by  his  eminent  pupil.  Three  years  later  (1683),  the 
persecution  of  Dissenters  in  England  and  Scotland  raged 
furiously.  The  elder  Watts  was  impiisoned  again  for  six 
months ;  and,  on  being  released,  was  "  forced  to  leave  his 
family,  and  live  privately  in  London  for  two  years. "  King 
Charles  II.  died,  February  6, 1785,  and  was  succeeded  by 


ISAAC  WATTS.  631 

James  II.  Mr.  Watts  remained  in  London  several  months 
later,  and  probably  until  milder  counsels  began  to  prevail. 

Young  Watts  still  continued  at  the  grammar-school,  and 
("1683  or  before")  "began  to  learn  Greek";  in  1684-5,  he 
" learnt  French,"  and  "  1687 or  8,"  "  learnt  Hebrew."  From 
a  child  he  had  been  passionately  fond  of  books,  and  his 
rhyming  propensity  began  to  be  developed  as  early  as  his 
sixth  year.  The  glorious  "  Revolution  "  was  inaugurated 
by  the  landing  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  in  England,  No- 
vember 5, 1688,  and  persecution  came  to  an  end.  The  same 
year.  Watts  was  brought  "  under  considerable  convictions 
of  sin,"  and  (1689)  in  his  fifteenth  year  "was  taught  to 
trust  in  Christ."  He  continued  under  Mr.  Pinhorne's  in- 
structions ten  years  (1680-1690). 

The  remarkable  developments  of  the  lad  induced  Dr. 
John  Speed,  a  physician  of  the  town,  and  other  admiring 
friends,  to  offer  him  a  University  course  at  their  expense. 
But,  as  this  involved  a  surrender  of  his  non-conformitj^, 
and  "  he  was  determined  to  take  his  lot  among  the  Dis- 
senters," he  respectfully  and  gratefully  declined  the  offer. 
Having  now  "  made  himself  master  of  the  Latin,  Greek,  He- 
brew, and  French,  languages,"  he  "  left  the  grammar-school 
(1690)  and  came  to  London,  to  Mr.  Howe's,  to  study  phi- 
losophy, etc." 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Rowe  (1657-1705),  brother  of  the  Rev. 
Benoni  Rowe,  and  son  of  Rev.  John  Rowe,  all  of  London, 
at  the  decease  (1678)  of  the  learned  Rev.  Theophilus  Gale, 
took  charge  of  the  Academy,  taught  by  the  latter  at  New- 
ington  Green  ;  which  he  removed,  first  to  Clapham,  Surrey, 
and,  at  the  Revolution  (1688),  to  "  Little  Britain,"  in  the  im- 
mediate \dcinity  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  and  the  present  site 
of  the  General  Post-Office,  St.  Martin's-le-Grand,  London. 
Here  Watts  resided  until  the  early  part  of  1694,  most  dili- 
gently and  successfully  prosecuting  his  studies.  A  manu- 
script volume,  containing  twenty- two  of  his  Latin  Essays, 
on  physical,  metaphysical,  ethical,  and  theological  theses, 
is  extant.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  says,  they  "  show  a  degree 
of  knowledge,  both  philosox)hical  and  theological,  such  as 
very  few  attain  by  a  much  longer  course  of  study." 


632  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Mr.  Rowe,  his  teacher,  was  the  pastor  of  an  Independent 
church  worshiping  in  Girdler's  Hall,  on  the  east  side,  near 
London  Wall.  Here  Watts  worshiped  during  his  student 
life  in  London,  and  here,  December,  1693,  in  his  twentieth 
year,  he  first  made  a  public  profession  of  religion.  In 
April,  1694,  having  finished,  with  the  greatest  credit,  his 
academic  career,  including  a  thorough  course  of  theologi- 
cal study,  and  being  enfeebled  by  excessive  application,  he 
returned  to  his  father's  house  at  Southampton  for  rest  and 
recreation — a  slender  youth,  scarcely  more  than  five  feet  in 
height,  and  yet  one  of  the  ripest  scholars  of  his  age  any- 
where to  be  found  in  the  kingdom. 

From  the  age  of  fifteen  (1689),  he  had  enlivened  the  se- 
verity of  study  by  essays  in  poetry,  both  English  and  Latin. 
In  allusion  to  these  early  efforts  of  his  muse.  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson  says, — "  his  diction,  though  perhaps  not  always 
exactly  pure,  has  such  copiousness  and  splendor,  as  shows 
that  he  was  but  a  very  little  distance  from  excellence."  So 
refined  an  ear  must  have  taken  no  little  offence  at  the  rude 
and  uncouth  psalmody  to  which  the  humble  congregation 
of  Independents  at  Southampton  were  restricted.  It  is 
more  than  probable,  that  they  still  sung  Rouse's  versions 
of  the  Psalms.  The  day  of  hymn-books  had  not  yet  come. 
Joseph  Stennett's  "  Hymns  for  the  Lord's  Supper  "  did  not 
appear  until  1697.  John  Mason's  "  Songs  of  Praise  "  had 
appeared  in  1683,  but  as  yet  had  been  little  used  among 
the  Dissenters,  as  Mason  belonged  to  "  The  Church."  Tate 
and  Brady's  "  New  Version "  of  the  Psalms  was  not  au- 
thorized until  1698.  The  "  Old  Version  "  of  Sternhold  and 
Hopkins  still  kept  its  place  in  the  churches  of  the  Estab- 
lishment. Possibly  this  "  Old  Version  "  may  have  been  in 
use  among  the  Independents,  to  some  extent.  Patrick's 
Version  was  just  then  (1694)  passing  through  the  press. 

The  Rev.  John  Morgan,  of  Romsey,  Hampshire,  says: 
"  The  occasion  of  the  Doctor's  hymns  was  this,  as  I  had  the 
account  from  his  worthy  fellow-laborer  and  colleague,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Price,  in  whose  family  I  dwelt  above  fifty  years 
ago.    The  hymns,  which  were  sung  at  the  Dissenting  meet 


ISAAC  WATTS.  633 

ing-house  at  Soutliamptoii,  were  so  little  to  the  taste  of  Mr. 
Watts,  that  he  could  not  forbear  complaining  of  them  to 
his  father.  The  father  bade  him  try  what  he  could  do  to 
mend  the  matter.  He  did,  and  had  such  success  in  his  first 
essay,  that  a  second  hymn  was  earnestly  desired  of  him, 
and  then  a  third  and  fourth,  etc.,  till,  in  process  of  time, 
there  was  such  a  number  of  them  as  to  make  up  a  volume." 
This  letter  was  addressed  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Gibbons, 
and  published  (1780)  in  his  "Memoirs  of  Dr.  Isaac  Watts." 
Tradition,  also,  reports,  that  the  first  hymn  thus  composed 
was  that  excellent  lyric, 

"  Behold  tlie  glories  of  the  Lamb,"  etc., 

a  tradition  to  be  traced,  probably,  to  the  fact,  that  this  is 
the  first  hymn,  numerically,  of  his  first  Book.  The  only 
one  of  his  "  Hymns,"  to  which  a  date  was  affixed  by  the 
author,  is  the  sixty-second  of  his  second  Book, — 

**  Sing  to  the  Lord,  ye  heavenly  hosts  ! "  etc., — 

which  was  "  made  in  a  great  sudden  storm  of  thunder,  Au- 
gust the  20th,  1697,"  at  Stoke  Newington,  near  London, 
where  he  was  then  residing. 

During  the  thirty  months  of  his  sojourn  at  home  (1694- 
1696),  Watts  continued  the  prosecution  of  his  studies,  as 
well  as  the  composition  of  his  "  Hymns  and  Spiritual 
Songs."  In  his  brief  "Memoranda,"  he  says:  "Came  to 
Sir  John  Hartopp's,  to  be  a  tutor  to  his  son,  at  Newington, 
October  15,  1696."  Sir  John  was  one  of  the  most  eminent 
among  the  lay  non-conformists  of  the  period.  He  was  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  renowned  Rev.  Dr.  John  Owen,  of 
whose  church  he  was  a  member.  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  was 
a  daughter  of  the  Lord  General  Charles  Fleetwood,  whose 
second  wife,  Bridget  Cromwell,  was  the  eldest  daughter  of 
the  Protector,  Oliver  Cromwell.  Fleetwood  and  his  wife 
had  both  died,  the  former  only  four  years  before  (1692). 
Stoke  Newington  was  a  rural  suburb  of  the  metropolis,  a 
few  miles  to  the  north. 


634  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

In  tliis  pleasant  retreat,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  charming 
circle  of  highly-cultured  Christian  people,  Watts  found  a 
delightful  home  for  the  greater  part  of  six  years.  Sir 
John's  family  worshiped  with  Dr.  Isaac  Chauncey's  con- 
gregation at  the  house  of  a  Dr.  Clarke,  in  Mark  Lane,  near 
the  Tower  of  London.  Here  Watts  preached  his  first  ser- 
mon, on  his  birth-day,  July  17, 1698 ;  and,  the  next  month, 
on  a  visit  home,  jDreached  several  times  at  Southampton. 
The  next  February  (1699),  he  was  chosen  and  began  to 
preach  as  Dr.  Chauncey's  Assistant,  at  Mark  Lane  Church, 
occupying  the  pulpit  every  Sabbath  morning.  The  same 
year,  he  began  to  be  affected  with  the  infirmity  from  which 
he  suffered  during  the  most  of  his  subsequent  life.  It  re- 
turned upon  him,  in  the  summer  of  the  following  year 
(1700),  and  still  more  severely  in  1701.  From  June  to  No- 
vember, he  was  obliged  to  decline  all  public  services,  pass- 
ing his  time  at  Bath,  Southampton,  and  Tunbridge. 

Dr.  Chauncey  resigned  the  pastorate  in  April,  1701,  and 
Watts,  on  his  return  to  Newington,  in  November,  was 
called,  January  15, 1702,  to  be  his  successor.  He  was  or- 
dained, March  18,  1702,  ten  days  after  the  decease  of  King 
William.  He  was  preceded  in  the  pastorate  by  the  emi- 
nent divines,  Joseph  Caryl  and  John  Owen,  as  well  as 
David  Clarkson  and  Isaac  Chauncey.  He  entered  upon 
his  work  with  much  self-distrust  and  trembling.  Again 
his  health  gave  way,  and  in  September  he  was  laid  aside 
by  "  violent  Gaundice  and  cholic,"  from  which  he  suffered, 
more  than  two  months.  Leaving  Newington,  he  became 
the  guest  of  Mr.  Thomas  Hollis,  residing  in  the  spacious 
street  called  "  The  Minonis,"  near  the  Tower.  The  son  of 
Mr.  Hollis  became  a  distinguished  benefactor  of  Harvard 
College. 

His  constitution  had  become  so  enfeebled  by  disease, 
that,  in  June,  1703,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Price,  a  native  of 
Wales,  was  chosen  his  assistant.  His  infinnities  having, 
for  four  years,  prevented  his  application  to  study,  he  now, 
December,  1703,  began  to  employ  an  amanuensis,  to  read  to 
him  and  write  for  him.     In  June,  1704,  the  congregation 


ISAAC  WATTS.  635 

removed  from  Mark  Lane  to  Pinners'  Hall,  Old  Broad 
Street,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city,  a  place  of  hallowed 
memories  to  the  Dissenters.  After  much  importunity  on 
the  part  of  friends  and  admirers,  he  ventured  to  appear  in 
print,  and,  December,  1705,  published  his  "  Horas  Lyricse  ; 
Poems,  chiefly  of  the  Lyric  Kind."  Tlie  book  was  well  re- 
ceived, and  his  reputation  as  a  lyiic  poet  was  established. 
It  brought  him  many  flattering  encomiums,  and  eight  edi- 
tions were  called  for  during  the  author's  life-time. 

His  brother,  Enoch,  residing  at  Southampton,  had  writ- 
ten to  him,  in  March,  1700,  urging  him,  at  much  length,  and 
with  a  very  plausible  show  of  argument,  "to  oblige  the 
world  by  showing  it"  his  " hymns  in  print."  The  success 
of  the  "  Lyrics  "  now  determined  him  no  longer  to  delay 
the  publication  of  the  Hymns,  the  most  of  which  had  been 
written  before  the  century  commenced.  He  had,  however, 
many  misgivings  as  to  the  popular  verdict.  In  a  Prefatory 
Essay,  he  sought  most  carefully  to  disarm  criticism.  He 
refers  to  the  wretched  state  of  the  prevalent  psalmody,  and 
says  :  "  Many  ministers,  and  many  private  Christians,  have 
long  groaned  under  this  inconvenience,  and  have  wished, 
rather  than  attempted,  a  reformation.  At  their  importu- 
nate and  repeated  requests,  I  have,  for  some  years  past,  de- 
voted many  hours  of  leisure  to  this  service." 

He  protests  that  he  has  sought  to  bring  the  hymns  down 
to  the  capacity  of  the  people :  "  The  metaphors  are  gener- 
ally sunk  to  the  level  of  vulgar  capacities.  I  have  aimed 
at  ease  of  numbers  and  smoothness  of  sound,  and  endeav- 
ored to  make  the  sense  plain  and  obvious.  If  the  verse 
appears  so  gentle  and  flowing  as  to  incur  the  censure  of 
feebleness,  T  may  honestly  affirm,  that  sometimes  it  cost 
me  labor  to  make  it  so.  Some  of  the  beauties  of  poesy  are 
neglected,  and  some  wilfully  defaced ;  I  have  thrown  out 
the  lines  that  were  too  sonorous,  and  have  given  an  allay 
to  the  verse,  lest  a  more  exalted  turn  of  thought,  or  lan- 
guage, should  darken  or  disturb  the  devotion  of  the  weak- 
est souls."  It  was  this  very  process,  doubtless,  that  gave 
his  hymns  such  a  marvelous  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  the 


636  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

worshipers,  and  made  them  such  nniversal  favorites  from 
the  first.  They  were  immeasurably  in  advance  of  every- 
thing of  the  kind  then  known  ;  and  they  struck  a  chord 
that,  even  now,  has  not  ceased  to  vibrate. 

His  "  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs :  In  Three  Books,"  first 
appeared  in  July,  1707.  The  work  contained  222  hymns, 
including  12  doxologies.  A  new  edition  was  soon  called 
for.  It  was  issued  in  April,  1809,  corrected  and  much 
enlarged.  To  the  first  book  were  added  72  new  hymns  ;  60 
to  the  second ;  3  to  the  third ;  besides  3  new  doxologies 
and  4  "Hosannas."  The  text  of  the  former  edition  had 
been  carefully  revised  and  corrected.  Fourteen  imitations 
of  the  Psalms  were  omitted,  in  order  to  be  incorporated  in 
his  contemplated  Book  of  Psalms.  The  new  hymns  were 
also  printed  in  a  "  Supplement." 

The  hymn-book  had  hitherto  been  unknown  in  public 
worship.  Neither  Mason's  "  Songs  of  Praise,"  nor  Sten- 
nett's  "  Hymns  for  the  Lord's  Supper,"  had  been  adopted  as 
vehicles  of  public  praise.  No  other  book,  then  extant,  was 
adapted  to  this  service.  Watts  is  conceded  to  have  been 
the  Great  Refonner  of  Public  Worship,  in  the  matter  of 
united  Praise.  He  is  the  Father  of  HjTunody  and  its  chief 
promoter.  "  Dr.  Watts,"  says  Montgomery,  "  may  almost 
be  called  the  inventor  of  hpnns  in  our  language ;  for  he  so 
far  departed  from  all  precedent,  that  few  of  his  composi- 
tions resemble  those  of  his  forerunners, — while  he  so  far 
established  a  precedent  to  all  his  successors,  that  none  have 
depai'ted  from  it,  otherwise  than  according  to  the  peculiar 
turn  of  mind  in  the  "writer,  and  the  style  of  expressing 
Christian  truths  employed  by  the  denomination  to  which 
he  belonged." 

Montgomerj^  does  not  hesitate  to  speak  of  Watts,  as 
"  the  greatest  name  among  hymn- writers," — "  since  it  has 
pleased  God  to  confer  upon  him,  though  one  of  the  lea  t  of 
the  poets  of  his  country,  more  glory  than  upon  the  greatest 
either  of  that  or  any  other,  by  making  his  '  Divine  Songs ' 
a  mo:  e  abundant  and  universal  blessing,  than  the  verses  of 
any  uninspired  penman  that  ever  lived." — "We  say  this, 


ISAAC  WATTS.  637 

■without  reserve,  of  tlie  materials  of  Ms  hymns  ;  had  their 
execution  always  been  correspondent  with  the  preciousness 
of  these,  we  should  have  had  a  'Christian  Psalmist'  in 
England,  next  (and  that  only  in  date,  not  in  dignity)  to  the 
'  Sweet  Singer  of  Israel.' " 

At  the  close  of  September,  1708,  his  congregation  took 
possession  of  their  new  house  of  worship,  Duke's  Place, 
Bury  Street, — erected  on  a  piece  of  ground  leased  of  Mr. 
Charles  Great,  previously  occupied  as  his  garden.  It  was 
forty  by  fifty  feet,  and  had  thi^ee  large  galleries.  They 
continued  to  worship  here  during  the  remainder  of  Watts' 
life.  At  the  end  of  the  year  1710,  he  removed  his  lodgings 
from  the  house  of  Mr.  HoUis,  to  that  of  Mr.  Bowes. 

His  malady  again  made  inroads  upon  his  health,  and  re- 
turned upon  him,  in  the  autumn  of  1712,  with  such  vio- 
lence, as  to  unfit  him  for  all  public  service.  A  violent 
fever,  and  a  consequent  distressing  neuralgia,  so  over- 
powered him,  as  to  deprive  him,  at  times,  of  all  apparent 
consciousness.  At  the  request  of  Watts  himself,  his  as- 
sistant, Mr.  Price,  was  ordained,  March  3,  1713,  his  co- 
pastor. 

Sir  Thomas  Abney,  a  member  of  Parliament,  and  formerly 
(1700)  Lord  Mayor  of  the  City  of  London,  was  a  devout 
non-confomiist.  He  had  an  estate  at  Theobalds,  Hertford- 
shire, adjacent  to  the  ruins  of  Lord  Burleigh's  Palace,  in 
the  immediate  \icinity  of  Cheshunt  and  Waltham  Park. 
His  first  wife  was  the  daughter  of  the  learned  Rev.  Joseph 
Caryl.  In  1700,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one,  he  married  Mary 
Gunston,  the  sister  of  Thomas  Gunston,  Esq.,  "who  died 
November  11,  1700,  when  he  had  just  finished  his  seat  at 
Newdngton,"— the  manor-house  of  Stoke  JSTewington.  Both 
Gunston  and  his  sister.  Lady  Abney,  who  inherited  the 
estate,  were  special  friends  of  Watts,  who  wrote  an  Elegiac 
Poem,  on  the  occasion  of  his  death,  and  dedicated  it  to 
"Lady  Abney,  Lady  Mayoress  of  London."  After  Watts 
had  been  prostrated  by  severe  illness.  Sir  Thomas,  in  1713, 
invited  him  to  his  seat  at  Theobalds,  with  the  hope  that 
the  change  might  be  beneficial.     He  accepted  the  invita- 


638  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

tion.  Many  years  aiterwards,  he  said  to  Lady  Huntingdon,— 
"  This  day  thirty  years  I  came  hither  to  the  house  of  my 
good  friend  Sir  Tliomas  Abney,  intending  to  spend  but  one 
single  week  under  his  friendly  roof,  and  I  have  extended 
my  visit  to  the  length  of  exactly  thirty  years."  It  was  a 
delightful  rural  retreat,  much  resorted  to  by  the  London 
gentry,  and  the  abode  of  the  choicest  society.  With  a 
generosity  unbounded,  and  a  tenderness  most  exemplary, 
the  noble  baronet  and  his  family  ministered  to  their  be- 
loved guest,  supplying  his  every  want,  and  alleviating  to 
the  utmost  the  severity  of  his  malady. 

During  a  period  of  four  years  (1712-1716),  Watts  was 
laid  aside  from  all  public  work.  He  ministered  as  his  pa- 
tron's chajDlain,  and,  when  possible,  preached  a  parlor  ser- 
mon, on  the  evenings  of  the  Lord's  Days.  In  1716,  he 
published  his  "Guide  to  Prayer."  Much  of  his  leisure  at 
Theobalds,  when  convalescent,  he  employed  in  the  comple- 
tion of  his  "Psalms."  In  the  Preface  to  his  "Hymns" 
(1707),  he  had  said :  "  After  this  manner  should  I  rejoice 
to  see  a  good  part  of  the  book  of  Psalms  fitted  for  the  use 
of  our  churches,  and  David  converted  into  a  Christian ; 
but,  because  I  can  not  persuade  others  to  attempt  this 
glorious  work,  I  have  suffered  myself  to  be  persuaded  to 
begin  it,  and  have,  through  divine  goodness,  already  pro- 
ceeded half  way  through." 

The  work  was  at  length  prepared  for  publication,  and 
issued  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1719.  The  Preface 
and  Advertisement  are  dated  December  1,  1718.  In  the 
Preface,  after  a  kindly  reference  to  Sir  John  Denham, 
Mr.  Milbourne,  and  Mr.  Tate  and  Dr.  Brady,  he  says  : 
"  I  have  not  refused,  in  some  few  psalms,  to  borrow  a  single 
line  or  two  from  these  three  authors  ;  yet  I  have  taken  the 
most  freedom  of  that  sort  with  Dr.  Patrick,  for  his  style 
best  agrees  with  my  design,  though  his  verse  be  generally 
of  a  lower  strain."  The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Patrick,  a  brother 
of  Bishop  Simon  Patrick,  had,  in  1694,  published  "The 
Psalmes  of  David,  in  Meti-e,"  of  which  Watts,  in  his  Pref- 
ace, says :  "  He  hath  made  use  of  the  present  language  of 


ISAAC  WATTS.  639 

Christians  in  several  Psalms,  and  left  out  many  of  the 
Judaisms,  This  is  the  thing  that  hath  introduced  him  into 
the  favor  of  so  many  religious  assemblies  ;  even  those  very 
persons,  that  have  an  aversion  to  sing  anything  in  worship 
but  David's  psalms,  have  been  led  insensibly  to  fall  in  mth 
Dr.  Patrick's  performance,  by  a  relish  of  pious  pleasure ; 
never  considering  that  his  work  is  by  no  means  a  just 
translation,  but  a  paraphrase." 

The  design  of  Watts  was,  "  to  accommodate  the  Book  of 
Psalms  to  Christian  worship  ;  and,  in  order  to  this," — 
"to  divest  David  and  Asaph,  etc.,  of  every  other  character 
but  that  of  a  psalmist  and  a  saint,  and  to  make  them 
always  speak  the  common  sense  of  a  Christian."  "With 
this  view,"  he  says,  "  I  have  entirely  omitted  some  whole 
Psalms,  and  large  pieces  of  many  others  ;  and  have  chosen, 
out  of  all  them,  such  parts  only  as  might  easily  and  natu- 
rally be  accommodated  to  the  various  occasions  of  the  Chris- 
tian life,  or  at  least  might  afford  us  some  beautiful  allusion 
to  Christian  affairs.  These  I  have  copied  and  explained  in 
the  general  style  of  the  gospel." — "I  have  chosen  rather 
to  imitate  than  to  translate ;  and  thus  to  compose  a  Psahn- 
book  for  Christians  after  the  manner  of  the  Jewish  Psalter." 
"  I  have  expressed  myself,  as  I  may  suppose  David  would 
have  done,  had  he  lived  in  the  days  of  Christianity."—"  In 
all  places,  I  have  kept  my  grand  design  in  view,  and  that 
is,  to  teach  my  author  to  speak  like  a  Christian." 

It  was  a  great  innovation.  It  encountered  a  world  of 
prejudices,  well-nigh  inveterate— prejudices,  that,  even  to 
this  day,  maintain  their  hold  upon  large  and  respectable 
bodies  of  Christian  people.  To  meet  these  difficulties,  and 
overcome  them,  to  counteract  these  prejudices,  or  mitigate 
their  severity,  and  to  defend  his  work  against  all  opposi- 
tion, he  prepared,  "  at  the  request  of  several  ministers  and 
private  Christians  who^  practised  psalmody  in  this  method 
themselves,"  and  soon  after  published,  "A  Short  Essay 
toward  the  Improvement  of  Psalmody";  having,  in  the 
Preface  to  his  "Psalms,"  begged  his  readers  to  suspend 
their  censures  of  his  work,  "till,"  he  says,  "they have  read 


640  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

my  Discoui'se  of  Psalmody,  wMch  I  hope  will  shortly  be 

published." 

The  "Psalms"  was  a  work  far  in  advance  of  anything 
previously  published  "  for  the  service  of  song  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord. "  He  was  admirably  qualified  for  it,  possessing, 
as  he  did,  a  thoroughly  educated  and  classical  mind,  great 
familiarity  with  the  Hebrew  text,  a  remarkable  facility  of 
versification,  a  lively  imagination,  a  refined  ear,  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  poetic  literature,  sacred  and  profane, 
of  the  age,  and  a  cultivated  poetic  taste, — the  whole  sancti- 
fied by  "  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One,"  by  constant  and 
devout  intercourse  with  the  spiiitual  world,  and  by  a  glow- 
ing zeal  for  the  universal  spread  of  the  Gospel  among  his 
fellow-men. 

The  "  Hymns  "  had  prepared  the  way  for  the  "  Psalms," 
and  excited  large  expectations  in  the  circle  of  his  particu- 
lar friends.  An  edition  of  four  thousand  copies  was  sold 
the  first  year.  Gradually  the  book  supplanted  Patrick, 
and  Rouse,  and  Sternhold ;  and  was  adopted  by  a  large 
proiDortion  of  the  Dissenting  congregations  of  the  metrop- 
olis. It  became  popular  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  in 
the  British  Colonies  of  the  New  World.  Together  with 
the  "  Hymns "  it  has  been  issued  in  numberless  editions. 
Millions  of  copies  have  been  circulated.  It  still  commands 
an  immense  sale.  For  a  hundred  years  and  more  after  its 
first  api^earance,  scarcely  anything  in  the  way  of  a  Compila- 
tion appeared  among  the  Dissenters  (the  Wesleyans  ex- 
cepted), but  as  "A  Supplement  to  Watts."  Watts  sup- 
planted all  his  predecessors,  save  in  "The  Establishment"; 
but,  to  this  day,  has  never  himself  been  supplanted.  The 
use  of  "  Watts'  Psalms  and  Hymns "  so  generally  among 
the  Dissenting  churches  of  England  had  much  to  do  in 
keeping  alive  the  flame  of  true  devotion,  during  the  long 
period  of  formalism  that  characterized  much  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  And  now,  though  new  compilations 
of  hymns  have,  during  the  present  century,  been  continu- 
ally seeking  the  patronage  of  the  churches,  not  one  of 
them  can  obtain  or  secure  it  among  the  Congregational, 


ISAAC  WATTS.  641 

Presbyterian,  or  Baptist  Churches  of  England  and  America, 
that  is  not  largely  composed  of  Watts'  inimitable  Spiritual 
Songs.  To  this  day,  Isaac  Watts  remains  the  peerless 
"Poet  of  the  Sanctuary." 

But  the  most  widely  circulated  of  all  his  publications, 
and,  in  some  respects,  the  most  useful,  was  his  "Divine 
and  Moral  Songs  for  the  Use  of  Children,"  that  appeared 
in  1720,  though  the  greater  part  had  been  composed  several 
years  before.  An  immense  number  of  copies  of  this  little 
book  have  been  put  in  circulation  ;  hundreds  of  thousands 
are  printed  yearly.  The  "  Songs  "  have  exerted  an  incalcu- 
lable influence  for  good  over  the  infantile  minds  of  at  least 
five  generations.  They  have  been  translated  into  a  large 
number  of  European  and  other  languages,  and  are  known 
and  loved  throughout  the  world.  "  For  children,"  says  Dr. 
Samuel  Johnson,  "  he  condescended  to  lay  aside  the  scholar, 
the  philosopher,  and  the  wit,  to  write  little  poems  of  devo- 
tion, and  systems  of  instruction,  adapted  to  their  wants 
and  capacities,  from  the  dawn  of  reason,  through  its  grada- 
tions of  advance  in  the  morning  of  life.  Every  man, 
acquainted  with  the  common  principles  of  human  action, 
will  look  with  veneration  on  the  writer,  who  is  at  one  time 
combating  Locke,  and  at  another  making  a  Catechism  for 
Children  in  their  fourth  year.  A  voluntary  descent  from 
the  dignity  of  science  is  perhaps  the  hardest  lesson  that 
humility  can  teach." 

In  1722,  his  venerated  friends  and  patrons.  Sir  John  Har- 
topp,  and  Sir  Thomas  Abney,  both  died.  Lady  Abney 
subsequently  divided  her  time  between  Theobalds  and  her 
own  manor-house  at  Stoke  Newington,  when  in  the  coun- 
try, and  her  house  in  Lime  Street,  when  in  the  city,— from 
all  which  places  Watts  dates  his  letters  and  his  publica- 
tions. His  health,  though  much  improved  since  1716,  con- 
tinued very  precarious.  "  I  am  continually  prevented,"  he 
says,  in  an  addi^ess  to  his  people,  February  21,  1721,  "in 
my  design  of  successive  visits  to  you,  by  the  want  of  active 
spirits  while  I  tarry  in  the  city  ;  and,  if  I  attempt  to  stay 
but  a  week  or  ten  days  there,  I  find  a  sensible  return  of 
41 


642  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

weakness ;  so  that  I  am  constrained  to  retire  to  the  coun- 
try air,  in  order  to  recruit  and  maintain  this  little  capacity 
of  service."  He  preached  whenever  on  the  Sabbath  it  was 
possible,  though  in  great  weakness  ;  but  frequently  he  was 
kept  from  the  pulpit  for  weeks  and  months. 

To  compensate  for  the  lack  of  public  service,  he  occupied 
his  time,  when  practicable,  in  the  preparation  of  useful  pub- 
lications. Several  volumes  of  "  Sermons  "  were  thus  given 
to  his  people  and  the  world,  during  the  last  twenty-five 
years  of  his  life.  His  "Logic"  was  issued  in  1724;  his 
"  Book  of  Catechisms,"  in  1728  ;  his  "  Short  View  of  Scrip- 
ture History,"  in  1730  ;  his  "  Philosophic  Essays,"  in  1732  ; 
his  "  Miscellaneous  Thoughts  in  Prose  and  Verse,"  in  1734  ; 
his  "  Ruin  and  Recovery  of  Mankind,"  in  1740 ;  and  his 
"  Improvement  of  the  Mind,"  in  1741.  Numerous  Essays, 
on  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  theological,  ecclesiastical, 
philosophical,  and  political,  were  also  issued  by  the  godly 
recluse, — several  of  them  on  the  philosophy  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity. 

He  was  honored,  in  1728,  by  both  the  Universities  of  Ed- 
inburgh and  Aberdeen,  with  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D. 
He  took  a  deep  interest  m  the  progress  of  religion,  both  at 
home  and  abroad.  He  corresponded  with  a  number  of  the 
leading  clergymen  of  New  England,  including  the  Mathers, 
President  Williams,  and  Jonathan  Edwards  ;  also  with  Gov- 
ernor Belcher.  He  was  profoundly  moved  by  the  news  of 
"The  Great  Awakening"  in  New  England,  in  1740,  and  by 
the  itinerant  operations  of  the  Wesleys,  Whitefield,  and 
their  coadjutors.  In  Dr.  Doddridge  and  his  Academy,  he 
took  a  very  deep  interest,  as  indeed  in  all  that  pertained 
to  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  At  Stoke 
Newington  manor-house,  where  principally  he  resided  from 
and  after  1735,  he  was  continually  sought,  for  advice  and 
counsel,  and  for  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance,  by  all 
classes.  Greatly  revered  and  loved,  as  well  as  highly  hon- 
ored, by  an  ever- widening  circle  of  friends  and  admirers,  in 
and  out  of  the  Establishment,  and  recognized  everywhere 
as  the  Patriarch  of  the  Dissenting  clergy,  he  spent  the  last 


ISAAC  WATTS.  643 

few  years  of  his  life  in  tliis  delightful  retreat.  Gradually  he 
declined  in  strength,  but  not  a  cloud  darkened  his  sky,  not 
a  doubt  disturbed  the  serenity  of  his  peace.  He  died  on 
the  afternoon  of  Friday,  E'ovember  25,  1748,  in  the  sev- 
enty-lifth  year  of  his  age.  A  great  concourse  of  sincere 
mourners  attended  the  body  to  its  final  resting-place  in 
Bunhill  Fields,  and  a  monument  to  his  memory  was  erected 
in  Westminster  Abbey. 

In  a  little  more  than  forty  years,  he  had  issued  fifty-two 
distinct  publications.  His  collected  "Works,"  edited  by 
the  Rev.  Drs.  David  Jennings  and  Philip  Doddiidge,  were 
published  (1753)  in  six  quarto  volumes.  They  have  fre- 
quently been  reprinted.  "  I  question,"  says  Dr,  Jennings, 
"  whether  any  author  before  him  did  ever  appear  with  rep- 
utation on  such  a  variety  of  subjects  as  he  has  done,  both 
as  a  prose-writer  and  as  a  poet.  However,  this  I  may  ven- 
ture to  say,  that  there  is  no  man  now  living  (1753),  of  whose 
works  so  many  have  been  dispersed  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
that  are  in  such  constant  use,  and  translated  into  such  a  va- 
riety of  languages."  "  Few  men,"  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  have 
left  behind  such  purity  of  character,  or  such  monuments 
of  laborious  piety.  He  has  provided  instruction  for  all 
ages,  from  those  who  are  lisping  their  first  lessons,  to  the 
enlightened  readers  of  Malebranche  and  Locke  ;  he  has  left 
neither  corporeal  nor  spiritual  nature  unexamined ;  he  has 
taught  the  art  of  reasoning,  and  the  science  of  the  stars." 
"  He  was  one  of  the  first  authors  that  taught  the  Dissenters 
to  court  attention  by  the  graces  of  language.  Whatever 
they  had  among  them  before,  whether  of  learning  or  acute- 
ness,  was  commonly  obscured  and  blunted  by  coarseness 
and  inelegance  of  style.  He  showed  them  that  zeal  and 
purity  might  be  expressed  and  enforced  by  polished  dic- 
tion." 

He  was  not  only  a  polished  writer,  but,  in  his  best  days, 
an  impressive  preacher.  A  thin,  spare  man,  scarcely  more 
than  five  feet  in  stature,  his  "  bodily  presence"  was  "weak  "; 
his  forehead  was  low,  his  cheek-bones  rather  prominent,  his 
eyes  small  and  gray,  and  his  face,  in  repose,  of  a  heavy  as- 


644  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

pect.  But  liis  voice  was  distinct  and  musical,  he  was  an 
adept  in  the  art  of  pronunciation,  his  delivery  was  grave 
and  solemn,  and  his  manner  indicative  of  a  glowing  zeal 
for  God  and  the  souls  of  men.  He  was  one  of  the  purest, 
as  he  was  one  of  the  most  modest  and  amiable,  of  men. 

In  the  "Preface"  to  his  "Miscellaneous  Thoughts," 
March,  1734,  he  says :  "  I  make  no  pretences  to  the  name 
of  a  poet,  or  a  polite  writer,  in  an  age  wherein  so  many 
superior  souls  shine  in  their  works  through  this  nation." 
"  I  can  boast  of  little  more  than  an  inclination  and  a  wish 
that  way."  Yet  Dr.  Johnson  truly  says,  in  his  "Lives  of 
the  English  Poets" :  "  As  a  poet,  had  he  been  only  a  poet,  he 
would  probably  have  stood  high  among  the  authors  with 
whom  he  is  now  associated."  He  was  wont  to  attach  to 
his  printed  sermons  a  hymn  designed  to  accomi)any  their 
delivery,  and  probably  written  at  the  same  time.  As  a 
whole,  they  do  not  compare  with  his  other  hymns.  Some 
of  them  have  been  taken  to  fill  up  the  gaps  in  his  hjrmn- 
book,  occasioned  by  the  transfer  of  several  of  his  hymns  to 
his  Book  of  Psalms. 

"Oh!  that  I  knew  the  secret  place,"  etc., 

was  written  to  accompany  a  sermon  (1721)  on  "  Sins  and 
Sorrows  spread  before  God,"  from  Job  xxiii.  3,  4. 

"O  happy  soul,  that  lives  on  high,"  etc., 

follows  two  sermons  (1721)  on  "The  Hidden  Life  of  a 
Christian,"  from  Col.  iii.  3. 

"  What  shall  the  dying  sinner  do  ? "  etc. , 

accompanies  his  three  sermons  (1723)  on  "  A  Rational  De- 
fence of  the  Gospel,"  from  Rom.  i.  16. 

"Jesus !  thy  blessings  are  not  few,"  etc., 

also,  is  based  on  Rom.  i.  16,  and  follows  a  sermon  (1723) 
entitled,  "None  excluded  from  Hope." 

"  Am  I  a  soldier  of  the  cross,"  etc., 


ISAAC  WATTS.  645 

grew  out  of  a  sermon  (1727)  on  "  Holy  Fortitude,  or  Reme- 
dies against  Fear,"  from  1  Cor.  xvi.  13. 

"Father  of  glory!  to  thy  name,"  etc., 

is  the  sequel  to  a  sermon  (1727)  on  "  The  Doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  and    the   Use  of  it ;    or,  Access  to  the  Father, 
through  Christ,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,"  from  Eph.  ii.  18. 
The  first  two  lines  of  the  100th  Psalm,  as  commonly 

sung,— 

"  Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne, 

Ye  nations!  bow,  with  sacred  joy," 

were  written  by  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  and  substituted  by 
him  for  the  lines,  as  written  by  Watts, — 

"  Nations!  attend  before  his  throne. 
With  solemn  fear,  with  sacred  joy." 

Wesley,  also,  wrote  the  following  stanza, — 

"  He  dies,  the  Friend  of  sinners  dies  ! 
Lo !  Salem's  daughtei-s  weep  around : 
A  solemn  darkness  veils  the  skies, 

A  sudden  trembling  shakes  the  gi'ound ! " 

and  substituted  it  for  the  stanza,  as  written  by  Watts, — 

"  He  dies,  the  heavenly  Lover  dies! 
The  tidings  strike  a  doleful  sound 
On  my  poor  heart-strings ;  deep  he  lies 
In  the  cold  caverns  of  the  ground." 

The  hymn  beginning  with 

"Sinner!  oh!  why  so  thoughtless  grown," 

is  properly  a  reconstruction  (by  Dr.  Rippou,  1787,  prob- 
ably) of  a  lyric  by  Watts,  beginning  with 

"Oh!  why  is  man  so  thoughtless  grown  ?" 

entitled,  "The  hardy  Soldier,"  and  inscribed  "to  the 
Right  Honorable  John,  Lord  Cust,  at  the  siege  of  Na- 
mur,"  and  written,  therefore,  in  July  or  August,  1695. 


646  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

Many  of  his  hymns  give  evidence  of  Ms  love  of  natural 
scenery.     The  beautiful  hymn, 

"There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight,"  etc., 

is  said  to  have  been  written  in  his  father's  house  at  South- 
ampton, in  a  room  overlooking  the  river  Itchen,  with  the 
charming  Isle  of  Wight  in  the  distance,  and  suggesting 
very  naturally  the  couplet, 

' '  Sweet  fields,  beyond  the  swelling  flood, 
Stand  dressed  in  living  green." 

Possibly,  the  "  sweet  fields  "  were  a  portion  of  "  the  green 
glades  of  the  New  Forest,"  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
and  harbor.  The  quiet  waters  of  the  harbor,  doubtless, 
suggested  the  familiar  stanza, — 

"  There  shall  I  bathe  my  weary  soul 
In  seas  of  heavenly  rest, 
And  not  a  wave  of  trouble  roll 
Across  my  peaceftil  breast." 


GEORGE  WEISSEL. 

1590-1635. 

The  Rev.  Geokge  Weissel  was  a  German  Protestant 
divine  of  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  He 
was  born  (1590)  at  Domnau,  Prussia.  Very  few  particulars 
of  his  life  have  been  preserved.  At  an  early  age  he  devel- 
oped a  remarkable  poetic  talent,  and  had  the  gift  of  inspir- 
ing others,  Simon  Dach  particularly,  with  something  of  his 
own  enthusiasm  for  the  divine  art.  At  the  age  of  thirty- 
three,  after  long  years  of  careful  preparation  for  the  cleri- 
cal profession,  he  was  appointed  to  a  ministerial  charge  in 
Konigsberg,  Prussia.  He  was  subjected  to  many  trials 
during  the  "  Thirty  Years'  War,"  and  died  in  great  peace 


CHARLES  WESLEY.  647 

at  Konigsberg,  August  1, 1635.    His  celebrated  and  popular 
Advent  Hymn, 

"Macht  hoch  das  Thor,  die  Thiiren  weit,"  etc., 
["Lift  up  yoxir  heads,  ye  mighty  gates!"— Tr.  C.  Winkworth], 

was  composed  about  1630. 


CHARLES  WESLEY. 

1708-1788. 

Chables  Wesley,  in  the  number  of  his  compositions, 
greatly  exceeds  any  other  hymn-writer  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. To  the  Wesleyans  of  every  name  throughout  the 
Christian  world,  he  is  the  Father  of  Sacred  Song.  Thomas 
Jackson,  his  biographer,  says  : 

"  It  is  as  a  writer  of  devotional  poetry,  that  Mr.  Charles 
Wesley  will  be  permanently  remembered,  and  that  his 
name  will  live  in  the  annals  of  the  Church.  In  the  com- 
position of  hymns  adapted  to  Christian  worship,  he  certain- 
ly has  no  equal  in  the  English  language,  and  is  perhaps  su- 
perior to  every  other  uninspired  man  that  ever  lived.  It 
does  not  appear,  that  any  person  besides  himself,  in  any 
section  of  the  universal  Church,  has  either  written  so  many 
hjnnns,  or  hymns  of  such  surpassing  excellence."  "Dur- 
ing the  last  fifty  years  [1841],  few  Collections  of  Hymns, 
designed  for  the  use  of  evangelical  congregations,  whether 
belonging  to  the  Established  Church,  or  to  the  Dissenting 
bodies,  have  been  made,  without  a  considerable  number  of 
his  compositions,  which  are  admired  in  proportion  as  the 
people  are  spiritually-minded.  His  hymns  are,  therefore, 
extensively  used  in  secret  devotion,  in  family- worship,  and 
in  public  religious  assemblies.  Every  Sabbath-day,  myri- 
ads of  voices  are  lifted  up,  and  utter,  in  the  hallowed  strains 
which  he  has  supplied,  the  feelings  of  penitence,  of  faith, 


648  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

of  grateful  love,  and  Joyous  hope,  with  wliicli  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Lord  and  Giver  of  life,  has  inspired  them  ;  and 
are  thus  in  a  course  of  training  for  the  more  perfect  wor- 
ship of  heaven."  "As  long  as  the  language  in  which 
they  are  written  is  understood,  and  enlightened  piety  is 
cherished,  the  hymns  of  this  venerable  man  will  be  used 
as  a  handmaid  to  devotion." 

Charles  Wesley  was  born,  December  18,  1708,  in  the 
humble  rectory  of  Epworth,  Lincolnshire.  His  father, 
Samuel  Wesley  {q.  «.),  was  the  Rector  of  the  parish.  His 
mother,  Susannah,  was  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  An- 
nesley,  LL.D,,  one  of  the  most  eminent  divines  among  the 
Dissenters,  and  whose  father  was  a  brother  of  Arthur,  the 
lirst  Earl  of  Anglesea.  Charles  was  the  youngest,  save  one 
(Kezia),  of  nineteen  children,  of  w^hom  only  ten  survived 
their  infancy, — seven  daughters  and  three  sons,  Samuel, 
John,  and  Charles. 

Such  was  the  improvidence,  in  some  respects,  of  the 
father,  so  numerous  were  his  dependents,  and  so  small  his 
income,  that  their  condition  was  exceedingly  straitened, 
and  their  struggles  with  poverty  seldom  intermitted.  They 
had  scarcely  any  intercourse  with  Dissenters,  and  were 
rigidly  attached  to  the  Church  of  England.  The  father 
had  become  extensively  known  as  a  ready  writer  of  poetry, 
and  the  mother  was  a  strenuous  Jacobite. 

The  utmost  method  and  system  prevailed  in  the  house- 
hold, and  both  he  and  his  brother,  John,  were  trained  to 
strict  habits  of  regularity.  The  first  eight  years  of  his  life 
were  passed  at  home,  under  the  tuition  of  his  mother. 
John,  five  years  his  senior,  had  been  sent  (1714)  to  the 
Charterhouse  School,  in  London ;  and,  two  years  later 
(1716),  Charles  was  entered  at  Westminster  School,  of 
which  his  eldest  brother,  Samuel  (then  about  twenty-five 
years  old,  and  by  whom  he  was  at  first  supported  there), 
was  one  of  the  teachers. 

While  the  boy  was  thus  laying  the  foundation  of  his 
later  eminence.  Garret  Wesley,  or  Wellesley,  a  gentleman 
of  large  fortune  residing  at  Daugan,  L-eland,  and  who  was 


CHARLES  WESLEY.  649 

M.  P.  for  the  county  of  Meath,  having  no  issue,  wrote  to  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Wesley,  of  Epworth,  offering,  if  he  had  a  son 
named  Charles,  to  adopt  him  as  his  heir.  As  the  boy  was 
yet  too  young  to  answer  for  himself,  his  Irish  patron,  for 
Beveral  years,  contributed  to  his  support.  At  length,  Mr. 
G.  Wesley  in  person  made  the  offer  to  the  boy,  who,  on 
3onsideration,  gratefully  declined  it.  Whereupon  Mr. 
Wesley  bequeathed  his  estates  with  his  name  to  his  cousin, 
Richard  CoUey,  who,  in  1746,  was  raised  to  the  peerage  as 
Baron  Mornington ;  his  son.  Garret,  in  1760,  was  created 
Earl  of  Mornington,  and  was  the  father  of  Arthur,  the  re- 
nowned Duke  of  Wellington. 

Charles,  in  1721,  was  admitted  as  one  of  the  King's 
scholars  in  St.  Peter's  College,  and  his  expenses  were  borne 
by  the  foundation.  His  stay  at  Westminster  was  prolonged 
ten  years,  during  which  he  was  thoroughly  fitted  for  the 
University.  In  1726,  being  in  his  eighteenth  year,  he  was 
elected  to  Christchurch  College,  Oxford,  as  his  brother, 
John,  had  been  five  years  before.  The  latter,  having  now 
graduated,  had  just  obtained  a  fellowship  in  Lincoln  Col- 
lege. "My  first  year  at  college,"  says  Charles,  "I  lost  in 
diversions;  the  next  I  set  myself  to  study."  "He  pur- 
sued," says  John, "  his  studies  diligently,  and  led  a  regular, 
harmless  life ;  but,  if  I  spoke  to  him  about  religion,  he 
would  warmly  answer, — '  What  ?  would  you  have  me  to  be 
a  saint  all  at  once  ? '  and  would  hear  no  more."  John  left 
Oxford  in  August,  1727,  and  did  not  return  until  Novem- 
ber, 1729.  Early  in  his  third  year,  Charles  entered  (1729) 
upon  a  methodical  and  serious  mode  of  life.  "  Diligence," 
he  says,  "  led  me  into  serious  thinking ;  I  went  to  the 
weekly  sacrament,  and  persuaded  two  or  three  young  stu- 
dents to  accompany  me,  and  to  observe  the  method  of  study 
prescribed  by  the  statutes  of  the  University.  This  gained 
me  the  harmless  name  of  Methodist.  In  half  a  year  [after 
this]  my  brother  left  his  curacy  at  Epworth,  and  came  to 
our  assistance.  We  then  proceeded  regularly  in  our  studies, 
and  in  doing  what  good  we  could  to  the  bodies  and  souls 
of  men." 


650  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Charles  Wesley,  it  thus  appears,  was  the  first  "  Method 
ist."  This  was  in  the  spring  of  1729,  to  which  date, 
therefore,  the  rise  of  "  Methodism,"  as  a  great  ecclesiastical 
movement,  and  a  religious  denomination,  is  to  be  traced. 
Charles  began  it,  and  John  controlled  and  shaped  it.  Be- 
sides the  two  brothers  AVesley,  the  little  band  included 
only  William  Morgan  and  Eobert  Kirkham.  Charles  took 
his  degree  of  B.A.,  the  same  year,  and  presently  began  to 
take  pupils — still  prosecuting  his  studies  for  orders.  His 
father  died  April  25,  1735,  and  the  family  home  at  Epworth 
was  broken  up.  Charles  had  graduated,  M.A.,  in  1732,  and 
had  continued  his  work  as  a  tutor.  When  John,  in  1735, 
concluded  to  go  to  Georgia  as  a  missionary,  Charles  was  in- 
duced to  accompany  him,  as  secretary  to  Governor  Ogle- 
thorpe. Though  he  had  "  exceedingly  dreaded  entering 
into  holy  orders,"  his  scruples  were  now  overcome,  and  he 
was  ordained,  in  September,  a  deacon,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John 
Potter,  Bishop  of  Oxford,  and,  the  Sunday  following,  priest, 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edmund  Gibson,  Bishop  of  London. 

Mr.  Wesley  embarked,  October  14, 1735,  and  sailed  from 
Gravesend,  on  the  22d,  but  did  not  leave  Cowes  until  De- 
cember 10,  arriving,  after  a  stormy  passage,  February  5, 
1736,  in  the  Savannah  river.  He  was  stationed  at  Frederica. 
After  a  stay  of  but  little  more  than  six  months,  he  sailed 
from  Charleston,  August  16th,  in  the  London  Oalley,  for 
London.  The  vessel  was  compelled,  September  24,  to  put 
in  at  Boston,  Mass.,  where  he  remained  a  month,  reaching 
England,  after  a  most  perilous  voyage,  December  3, 1736. 
The  year  following  he  spent  at  London,  Oxford,  and  Tiver- 
ton, visiting  friends,  and  waiting  on  the  Board  of  Trade. 
In  the  spring  of  1738,  he  was  prostrated  by  severe  illness. 
Heretofore,  he  had  espoused  the  doctrines  of  the  Rev.  Will- 
iam Law,  and  had  rested  in  a  legal  righteousness.  During 
his  illness,  under  the  instructions  of  the  godly  Moravian, 
Peter  Bohler  (who  had  selected  him  as  his  English  teacher), 
and  those  of  his  simple-minded  host  at  London,  Mr.  Bray, 
a  brazier,  he  was  brought  to  renounce  his  self -righteousness, 
and  to  obtain  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  on  Whitsundayj 


CHAELES  WESLEY.  651 

May  21, 1738.   To  this  date  he  looked  back  ever  afterwards, 
as  the  era  of  his  conversion. 

Recovered  from  his  illness,  he  became,  at  the  close  of 
July,  a  curate  for  Mr.  Stonehouse,  the  Vicar  of  St.  Mary's, 
Islington,  who  subsequently  became  a  Moravian.  Meeting 
with  much  opposition  from  a  portion  of  the  parish  and  his 
diocesan,  he  continued  there  only  eight  or  nine  months. 
FoUoAving  the  example  of  Whitefield,  he  now  resorted  to 
the  fields,  and,  June  24,  1739,  he  preached  to  thousands  at 
Moorfields.  From  this  time  forth,  he  gave  himself,  with 
all  his  powers,  to  the  work  of  an  evangelist— going  every- 
where, all  over  the  kingdom  and  the  principality  of  Wales, 
extending  his  labors  into  Ireland,  with  manifold  success, 
and  no  small  tribulation.  In  all  these  respects  he  vied 
with  his  elder  and  more  noted  brother,  John,  whom,  in 
some  respects,  he  excelled  as  a  popular  j^reacher. 

On  one  of  his  tours,  he  came  to  Bristol,  July  31,  1745, 
where  and  when  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Maraia- 
duke  GwjTine,  Esq.,  of  Garth,  sixteen  miles  from  Brecon, 
South  Wales,— a  gentleman  of  fortune,  of  high  social  posi- 
tion, and  a  magistrate,  who  had  been  converted  to  Method- 
ism, under  the  preaching  of  Howell  Harris.  Some  two 
years  later,  Mr.  Wesley,  on  his  way  to  Ireland,  visited  Mr. 
Gwynne  at  Garth,  and  became  enamored  with  his  daughter, 
Sarah.  Repeated  visits  of  the  itinerant  preacher  to  Garth, 
and  of  Mr.  Gwynne  with  his  daughter  to  London,  followed, 
resulting  in  Wesley's  marriage,  April  8th,  1749,  to  Miss 
Gwynne,  by  his  brother,  John.  The  bride  was  twenty-three 
years  old,  and  her  husband  in  his  forty-fii'st  year.  The 
marriage  was  in  all  respects  suitable,  congenial,  and  of 
happy  results.  Eight  children  were  born  to  them,  of  whom 
only  the  youngest  three,  Charles,  Sarah,  and  Samuel,  sur- 
vived their  infancy. 

At  the  close  of  1756,  Mr.  Wesley  ceased  to  itinerate,  con- 
fining his  labors  mostly  to  Bristol,  the  home  of  his  family; 
and  London,  to  which  he  made  fi'equent  official  visits.  Mrs. 
Gumley  [Miss  Degge],  the  aunt  of  Lady  Robert  Manners, 
in  1771,  presented  Mr.  and  Mrs.   Charles  Wesley  with  a 


652  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

twenty  years'  lease  of  her  town  residence,  richly  furnished  ; 
which  henceforth  became  their  home.  It  was  in  Chester- 
field Street,  Marylebone,  near  Regent's  Park,  a,nd  three 
miles  from  "  The  Foundry,"  John's  London  home.  In 
1777,  the  lease  of  the  Foundry  expired,  and  the  commodi- 
ous City  Road  Chapel  was  built.  In  these  tw^o  renowned 
localities,  or  in  some  other  of  the  city  chapels,  Mr.  Wesley, 
when  not  disabled  by  disease,  ordinarily  preached  twice  on 
the  Sabbath,  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Though  of 
a  frail  body,  and  a  life-long  victim  of  disease,  he  was  sj)ared 
to  a  good  old  age, — dying  at  his  house  in  Chesterfield  Street, 
Saturday,  March  29,  1788,  in  his  eightieth  year.  His  re- 
mains were  interred  in  Marylebone  churchyard. 

Like  his  brother,  John,  and  the  great  hjTnnist,  Watts, 
he  was  considerably  below  the  middle  stature,  and,  though 
stouter  than  John,  not  at  all  corpulent.  He  was  short- 
sighted, abrupt,  and  impetuous,  without  affectation.  His 
simplicity,  integrity,  frankness,  and  amiability  were 
marked.  In  the  words  inscribed  on  the  memorial  Tablet, 
City  Road  Chapel,  "as  a  preacher,  he  was  eminent  for 
abilities,  zeal,  and  usefulness,  being  learned  without  pride, 
and  pious  without  ostentation." 

Charles  Welsey  was  the  son  of  a  poet,  and  the  younger 
brother  of  a  poet.  Yet  he  seems  not  to  have  jDractised  the 
divine  art  himself  until  long  after  the  completion  of  his 
University  career,  and  his  entrance  on  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry. His  first  hymn,  so  far  as  known,  is  his  "  Hymn  for 
Midnight,"  beginning  with 

"While  midniglit  shades  the  earth  o'erspread," 

and  written  early  in  1737,  in  his  twenty-seventh  year.  The 
experience  of  divine  grace,  to  which  he  ever  afterwards  re- 
ferred as  the  date  of  his  conversion  and  true  regeneration, 
May  21,  1738,  stirred  up  within  him  the  gift  of  holy  song. 
From  that  day  until  the  very  day  of  his  death,  this  gift 
was  in  lively  and  almost  constant  exercise.  He  seemed  to 
think,  to  speak,  to  write,  in  poetic  numbers,  with  a  facility 
and  propriety,  of  which  there  are  to  be  found  but  few  ex 
amples. 


CHAELES  WESLEY.  653 

A  compilation  of  seventy  psalms  and  hymns  was  pub- 
lished by  the  brothers,  John  and  Charles,  anonymously,  in 
1738.  None  of  these  were  composed  by  Charles  Wesley ; 
33  were  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Watts,  and  13  from  Tate  and 
Brady's  Version.  A  volume  of  223  pages  and  139  hymns, 
entitled,  "  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,"  followed  in  1839,  the 
most  of  it  original ;  fifty  of  the  pieces  were  written  by 
Charles,  among  which  were : 

"  Christ,  the  Lord,  is  risen  to-day,"  etc., 

"  Hail  the  day  that  sees  him  rise,"  etc., 
and 

"Hark!  the  herald  angels  sing,"  etc. 

The  following  year  (1740),  another  volume  of  209  pages 
and  96  hymns,  with  the  same  title,  made  its  appearance,  in 
which  were  first  issued  : 

"  Christ!  whose  glory  fills  the  skies,"  etc., 
"Depth  of  meroy,  can  there  be,"  etc., 
' '  Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul ! "  etc. , 


and 


"Oh !  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing,"  etc. 


The  last  of  these  hymns  was  written  "  On  the  Anniversary 
of"  his  "Conversion";  having,  in  the  original,  eighteen 
stanzas.  An  enlarged  edition  of  the  "  Collection  "  of  1739, 
containing  96  hymns,  was  issued  in  1741,  and  one,  still  larger, 
in  1743.  The  latter  edition  included  several  of  Charles 
Wesley's  hymns,  among  them  his  Ascension  hymn,  begin- 
ning with 

"  Our  Lord  is  risen  from  the  dead." 

In  1741,  he  published,  also,  his  38  "  Hymns  on  God's  Ever- 
lasting Love,"  of  which  an  enlarged  edition  was  issued  in 
1756,  to  which  the  Church  is  indebted  for  that  admira- 
ble hymn, 

"  Sinners !  turn,  why  will  ye  die  ? "  etc. 

A  fourth  volume  of  155  "  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems"  was 
brought  out  in  1742,  in  which  appeared : 


654  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


and 


"  Oil !  for  a  heart  to  praise  my  God,"  etc., 
"  Oh!  that  my  load  of  sin  were  gone,"  etc., 

"Vain,  delusive  world!  adieu! "  etc. 


"An  Elegy  on  the  Death  of  Robert  Jones,  Esq.,"  in  about 
600  lines,  by  Charles  Wesley,  bears  date,  1742,  and  was  in- 
cluded (1744)  in  the  third  volume  of  Mr.  Wesley's  "  Collec- 
tion of  [213]  Moral  and  Sacred  Poems  from  the  most  Cele- 
brated English  Authors,"  in  which  also  appeared  several 
other  pieces  from  the  pen  of  Charles.  Eighteen  "  Hymns 
for  the  Nativity  "  appeared  in  1744,  including 

*'  Come,  thou  long-expected  Jesus ! "  etc., 
and 

"Light  of  those  whose  dreary  dwelling,"  etc. 

His  eleven  "  Hymns  for  the  Watchnight "  followed ;  also, 
his  eleven  "  Funeral  Hymns,"  a  tract  of  24  pages.  The 
same  year  (1744)  Mr.  Wesley  published  his  33  "Hymns 
for  Times  of  Trouble  and  Persecution,"  one  of  which  was 

"  Ye  servants  of  God !  your  Master  proclaim,"  etc. 

The  "  Hymns  on  the  Lord's  Supper  "  (1745)  were  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  in  number,  among  which  are  found 

"Happy  the  souls  to  Jesus  joined,"  etc., 

"Jesus!  we  thus  obey,"  etc., 
and 

"Lamb  of  God !  whose  bleeding  love,"  etc. 

His  seven  "  Hymns  for  Ascension  Day,"  and  his  sixteen 
"  Hymns  for  our  Lord's  Eesurrection,"  appeared  in  1746. 
The  same  year  he  produced  32  "  HjTuns  of  Petition  and 
Thanksgiving  for  the  Promise  of  the  Father";  seven 
"Hymns  for  the  Public  Thanksgiving  Day,  October  9, 
1746";  "Gloria  Patri,  etc.,  or  [24]  Hymns  to  the  Trinity"; 
and  26  "  Graces  before  and  after  Meat ";— all  of  them  small 
tracts.  "  Hymns  for  those  that  Seek,  and  those  that  Have, 
Redemption  in  the  Blood  of   Jesus  Christ,"  commonly 


CHARLES  WESLEY.  655 

called  "  Redemption  Hymns,"  came  forth  in  1747,  and  con- 
tained 

"  Come,  sinners!  to  the  gospel  feast,"  etc., 
and 

"Love  divine,  all  loves  excelling ! "  etc. 

These  were  followed,  in  1749,  by  two  volumes  of  455 
"  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,"  all  of  them  the  production 
of  Charles  Wesley,  including 

"Jesus!  let  thy  pitying  eye,"  etc., 
"Jesus,  Lord!  we  look  to  thee,"  etc., 
"  Lo!  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land,"  etc., 
"  O  Love  divine!  how  sweet  thou  art,"  etc., 
"Soldiers  of  Christ!  arise,"  etc.. 


and 


'  Thou  hidden  Source  of  calm  repose,"  etc. 


Seven  "  Hymns  for  New  Year's  Day,  1750,"  came  out  at 
the  close  of  the  year  1749,  and  a  succession  of  such  Hymns 
appeared  from  year  to  year.  In  the  issue  "  for  New  Year's 
Day,  1750,"  he  first  produced  his  splendid  Jubilee  Hymn, 

"  Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow,"  etc., 

written,  undoubtedly,  for  the  Jubilee  year,  1750. 

Nineteen  "  Hymns  occasioned  by  the  Earthquake,  March 
8,  1750,"  speedily  followed  that  event.  Then  came  "An 
Epistle  to  the  Reverend  Mr.  John  Wesley,"  and  "  An  Epis- 
tle to  the  Reverend  Mr.  George  Whitefield,"  both  in  1755  ; 
followed  by  seventeen  "  Hymns  for  the  Year  1756 :  Par- 
ticularly for  the  Feast  Day,  February  6";  and,  in  1758,  by 
forty  "  Hymns  of  Intercession  for  all  Mankind,"  one  of 
which  is 

"Lo!  he  comes,  with  clouds  descending,"  etc. 

Another  volume  of  43  "Funeral  Hymns"  was  issued  in 
1759,  among  which  is  found  that  charming  production, 

"  Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above,"  etc. ; 

followed,  the  same  year,  by  eight  "  Hymns  on  the  Expected 
Invasion,"  and  fifteen  "  Hymns  to  be  used  on  the  Thanks- 


656  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

giving  Day,  November  29,  1759,  and  after  it."  In  17G1,  ap- 
peared Ms  134  "  Hymns  for  those  to  whom  Christ  is  All  in 
all."  Two  volumes,  containing  2,030  "  Short  Hymns  on 
Select  Passages  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,"  all  of  them  by 
Charles  Wesley,  were  published  in  1762.  From  this  ovei*- 
flowing  treasury,  is  derived 

"A  charge  to  keep  I  have,"  etc. 

The  next  year  (1763),  he  published  his  100  "  Hymns  for  Chil- 
dren"; and,  four  years  later  (1767),  came  forth  a  volume  of 
182  "Hymns  on  the  Trinity";  and  another  of  188  " Hymns 
for  the  Use  of  Families,  and  on  Various  Occasions,"  In 
the  autumn  of  1770,  he  produced  "A  Hymn  on  the  Death 
of  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield,"  and  an  "  Elegy  on  the  late 
Reverend  George  Whitefield,  M.A."  The  removal  of  this 
apostolic  preacher  seems  to  have  suggested  the  publication 
of  a  small  volume  of  forty  hymns,  in  1772,  with  the  title, 
"  Preparation  for  Death,  in  several  Hymns." 

Nothing  further  appeared  from  his  pen  until  1778,  when 
he  published  his  "  Prayer  for  the  Life  of  the  Rev.  John 
Wesley."  His  latest  productions  were:  thirteen  "Hymns 
written  in  the  Time  of  the  Tumults,  June,  1780";  32 
"  Hymns  for  the  Nation  "  (1782),  a  tract  of  47  pages  ;  and 
ten  "  Prayers  for  Condemned  Malefactors "  (1785),  in  12 
pages. 

About  a  score  of  his  hymns  appeared  in  prose  produc- 
tions issued  by  himself  and  brother,  at  various  periods ; 
and  about  2,000  more  were  left  in  manuscript  (unpublished 
at  the  time  of  his  death),  some  few  of  which  have,  from 
time  to  time,  adorned  the  pages  of  Methodist  and  other 
periodicals.  His  "  Poetical  Version  of  nearly  the  whole 
Book  of  the  Psalms  of  David,"  edited  by  the  Rev.  Henry 
Fish,  was  published  in  1854.  He  is  said  to  have  written 
7,000  hymns,  of  which,  those  that  he  published  "would 
occupy  about  3,000  closely-printed  pages."  Hence  Mont- 
gomery says  of  him :  "  He  was  probably  the  author  of  a 
greater  number  of  compositions  of  this  kind,  with  less  va- 
riety of  matter  or  manner,  than  any  other  man  of  genius 


CHARLES  WESLEY.  657 

that  can  be  named."  "  It  is  probable,"  lie  adds,  "  that  the 
severer  taste  of  his  brother,  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  greatly 
tempered  the  extravagance  of  Charles,  pruned  his  luxuri- 
ances, and  restrained  his  impetuosity,  in  those  hymns  of 
his,  which  form  a  large  proportion  of  the  Methodist  Col- 
lection." 

In  his  "  Collection  of  Hymns  for  the  Use  of  the  People 
caUed  Methodists,"  John  Wesley  says,  in  the  Preface, 
dated,  "October  20,  1779":  "In  these  Hymns  there  is  no 
doggerel ;  no  botches ;  nothing  put  in  to  patch  up  the 
rhyme ;  no  feeble  expletives.  Here  is  nothing  turgid  or 
bombast,  on  the  one  hand,  or  low  and  creeping  on  the  oth- 
er. Here  are  no  cant  expressions ;  no  words  without  mean- 
ing." "Here  are,  allow  me  to  say,  both  the  purity,  the 
strength,  and  the  elegance  of  the  English  language ;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  the  utmost  simplicity  and  plainness, 
suited  to  every  capacity."  This  applies,  of  course,  to  the 
hymns  of  Charles  Wesley,  that  are  included  in  the  "  Col- 
lection"  of  1780. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife,  dated 
October  11, 1819,  says :  "  I  write  this,  my  dear  Mary,  in  a 
situation  that  would  make  your  soul  freeze  with  horror ; 
it  is  on  the  last  projecting  point  of  rock  of  the  '  Land's  End,' 
upwards  of  two  hundred  feet  perpendicular  above  the  sea, 
which  is  raging  and  roaring  most  tremendously,  threaten- 
ing destruction  to  myself  and  the  narrow  point  of  rock  on 
which  I  am  now  sitting.  On  my  right  hand  is  the  Bristol 
Channel,  and  before  me  the  vast  Atlantic  Ocean.  There  is 
not  one  inch  of  land,  from  the  place  on  which  my  feet  rest, 
to  the  vast  American  continent !  This  is  the  place,  though 
probably  not  so  far  advanced  on  the  tremendous  cliff,  where 
Charles  Wesley  composed  those  fine  lines, — 

'  Lo !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land, 
Twixt  two  unbounded  seas  I  stand,'  etc. 

The  point  of  rock  itself  is  about  three  feet  broad  at  its  ter- 
mination, and  the  fearless  adventurer  will  here  place  his 
foot,  in  order  to  be  able  to  say  that  he  has  been  on  the 
42 


658  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

uttermost  inch  of  land  in  the  Britisli  empire  westward ; 
and  on  this  spot  the  foot  of  your  husband  now  rests,  while 
he  writes  the  following  words  in  the  same  hymn : 

'  0  God !  my  inmost  soul  convert, 
And  deeply  on  my  thoughtful  heart 

Eternal  things  impress ; 
Give  me  to  feel  their  solemn  weight, 
And  tremble  on  the  brink  of  fate, 

And  wake  to  righteousness.' " 

The  hymns  of  Wesley  were  very  often  suggested  by  in- 
cidents in  his  personal  history.     Thus, 

"See  how  great  a  flame  aspires,"  etc., 

was  written  "after  preaching  to  the  Newcastle  colliers," 
in  praise  to  God  for  the  wonderful  success  of  his  work 
among  these  hardy  sons  of  toil.  "  The  imagery  of  the  first 
verse,"  says  Stevenson,  "was  suggested  by  the  furnace- 
blasts  and  burning  pit-heaps,  which  even  now  are  scattered 
thickly  over  the  district  for  some  miles  around  Newcastle- 
on-Tyne,  and  which  illuminate  the  whole  neighborhood." 

The  latest  effort  of  his  muse  was  made  on  his  dying  bed. 
"  Having  been  silent  and  quiet  for  some  time,"  says  Jack- 
son, "  he  called  Mrs.  Wesley  to  him,  and  requested  her  to 
write  the  following  lines  at  his  dictation  : 

'  In  age  and  feebleness  extreme, 
Who  shall  a  sLnful  world  redeem  ? 
Jesus !  my  only  hope  thou  art, 
Strength  of  my  failing  flesh  and  heart; 
Oh !  could  I  catch  a  smile  from  thee, 
And  drop  into  eternity.' " 


JOHN  WESLEY.  659 

JOHN  WESLEY. 
1703-1791. 

JoHN^  Wesley,  the  Father  and  Founder  of  Methodism, 
was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley  {q.  v.),  Rector 
of  Epworth,  Lincolnshire,  England.  He  was  born  in  the 
thatched  rectory  of  that  lowly  parish,  June  17,  1703. 
His  mother,  Susannah,  was  the  daughter  of  the  distin- 
guished Puritan,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Annesley,  LL.D.  John 
was  her  fourth  son,  the  second  and  third  sons  having  died 
in  infancy.  Samuel,  the  eldest  son,  was  thirteen  years 
older,  and  Charles,  the  youngest,  five  and  a  half  years 
younger,  than  John.  \Vhen  the  parsonage  was  burned 
down  (1709),  John  very  narrowly  escaped  an  earl^  death. 
Such  was  his  devoutness  and  thoughtfulness  as  a  child, 
that  his  father  admitted  him  to  the  Lord's  Supper  at  eight 
years  of  age. 

He  was  educated,  until  his  eleventh  year,  by  his  accom- 
plished mother.  Through  the  patronage  of  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  he  was  admitted,  January  28, 1714,  to  a  schol- 
arship in  the  Charterhouse  School,  London,  whither  he  now 
removed.  In  1716,  his  brother,  Samuel,  having  finished 
his  undergraduate  course,  at  Oxford,  became  a  teacher 
at  Westminster  School,  and  acted  as  guardian  of  the  boy, 
John,  who,  part  of  the  time,  was  a  member  of  his  family. 
Though  John  Wesley  "entered  the  School  as  the  poor 
child  of  an  impoverished  parish  priest,"  by  his  diligence  and 
progress  in  knowledge,  he  obtained  the  high  respect  of  his 
teachers  and  companions  in  study.  In  his  seventeenth 
year,  he  was  elected,  June  24,  1720,  to  a  scholarship  in 
Christchurch  College,  Oxford,  worth  £40  per  annum. 
Here,  also,  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  literary  profi- 
ciency. He  is  described,  at  the  expiration  of  four  years, 
as  "  the  very  sensible  and  acute  collegian,  a  young  fellow 
of  the  finest  classical  taste,  of  the  most  liberal  and  manly 
sentiments." 


660  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Not  until  liis  twenty-second  year,  did  lie  determine  to 
comx^ly  with  his  father's  wishes,  and  enter  holy  orders 
He  had  thus  far  been  only  a  nominal  Christian.  The  read 
ing  of  "  The  Christian  Pattern  "  (by  Thomas  a  Kempis),  and 
"Rules  of  Holy  Living  and  Dying"  (by  Jeremy  Taylor), 
and  the  companionship  of  a  godly  friend,  led  to  an  entire 
recast  of  his  daily  life.  He  kept  a  strict  watch  over  his 
thoughts  and  actions,  communicated  (at  the  Lord's  Supper) 
every  week,  and  strove  to  be  a  Christian  in  all  things. 
Having  pursued  a  suitable  course  of  theological  study, 
and  taken  his  degree  of  B.A.,  he  was  ordained  a  deacon, 
September  19,  1725,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Potter,  Bishop 
of  Oxford.  He  preached,  for  the  first  time,  a  few  days  la- 
ter, at  South  Leigh,  about  ten  miles  west  of  Oxford.  He 
was  elected,  March  17,  1726,  a  Fellow  of  Lincoln  College. 
The  summer  following  he  spent  with  his  parents  ;  and,  re- 
turning i?o  his  college  in  September,  he  was  chosen,  Novem- 
ber 7,  Greek  Lecturer  and  Moderator  of  the  Classes.  He 
graduated,  M.  A.,  February  14,  1727,  with  a  high  reputation 
for  scholarship. 

Leaving  Oxford,  August  4, 1727,  he  returned  to  Epworth, 
and  officiated,  both  there  and  at  Wroote,  as  his  father's 
chaplain,  until  November  22, 1729.  He  was  ordained  priest, 
September  22,  1728,  by  Bishop  Potter,  at  Oxford.  On  his 
return  to  Oxford,  in  November,  1729,  "  The  Godly  Club," 
referred  to  in  the  previous  sketch,  had  been  formed  by  his 
brother  Charles  and  two  other  friends,  to  whom  had  already 
been  applied,  sportively,  the  name  of  "Methodists."  John 
gladly  united  with  them,  and  became  the  recognized  leader 
of  the  "Movement."  Early  in  1730,  he  obtained  a  curacy 
(for  three  or  six  months),  about  eight  miles  from  Oxford. 
His  tutorship  and  his  studies  engrossed  the  most  of  his 
time,  which  was  silent  after  the  most  exact  method.  In 
this  he  was  the  more  confinned  by  William  Law's  "  Chris- 
tian Perfection,"  and  his  "  Serious  Call  to  a  Holy  Life," 
both  of  which  he  read  with  avidity. 

His  father  died,  April  25,  1735  ;  and,  in  September  of  the 
same  year,  John  and  Charles  Wesley  concluded  to  cast  in 


JOHN  WESLEY.  661 

their  lot  with  Oglethorpe's  colonists  in  Georgia.  They  em- 
barked, October  14,  1735,  but  did  not  set  sail  until  Decem- 
ber 10th.  They  derived  great  spiritual  benefit  from  the 
pious  Moravians,  with  whom  they  crossed  the  ocean.  John 
Wesley  was  stationed  at  Savannah,  but  ere  long,  by  reason 
of  a  love  affair,  was  involved  in  great  trouble  and  litigation. 
He  concluded  to  return  home,  and  set  sail,  December  22, 
1737,  arriving  at  Deal,  England,  February  1,  1738. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  at  London  (February  3d),  he  met 
with  the  Moravian,  Peter  Bohler,  and,  by  frequent  conver- 
sations with  this  excellent  man,  became  convinced  that  his 
religious  experience  was  both  defective  and  erroneous.  He 
connected  himself  with  the  Moravian  society  meeting  in 
Fetter  Lane,  and.  May  24, 1738,  he  obtained  "  joy  and  peace 
in  believing."  This  he  regarded  as  the  date  of  his  conver- 
sion. He  evidently  became,  from  this  period,  a  new  man, 
and  entered  upon  a  life  of  holy  faith  and  ardent  zeal,  to 
which  he  had  previously  been  a  stranger.  In  June  of  the 
same  year,  he  left  England,  in  order  to  visit  the  Moravian 
head-quarters  at  Herrnhut,  Saxony,  returning  to  London 
in  September,  having,  in  the  meantime,  conferred  with 
Count  Zinzendorf,  as  to  the  views  and  policy  of  "The 
Brethren." 

In  April,  1739,  Mr.  AVhitefield  ha\4ng  already  set  the  ex- 
ample of  open-air  or  field-preaching,  at  Bristol,  Mr.  Wesley 
went  dowTi  to  help  him,  and  commenced  his  field-preaching 
career.  He  had  already  been  excluded  from  the  pulpits  of 
most  of  the  churches  of  London,  and  he  seemed  to  be  shut 
up  to  this  course  of  labor.  A  great  w^ork  w^as  accomplished 
among  the  colliers  of  Kingswood.  In  the  autumn,  he  re- 
turned to  London,  preached  to  thousands  in  Moorfields, 
Sunday,  November  11,  purchased  the  old  "Foundry" 
building,  near  by,  had  it  fitted  up,  and  made  it  the  head- 
quarters of  Methodism.  A  separation  from  the  Moravians 
followed,  and  the  new  society  entered  upon  its  grand  career. 

John  Wesley  then  and  thus  began  his  truly  evangelistic 
labors,  as  an  Itinerant,  preacher.  From  London  and  Bris- 
tol as  the  centres  of  his  operations,  he  went  everywhere 


662  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

thi'ougliout  England  and  Wales,  with  occasional  excur- 
sions to  Scotland  and  Ireland,  preaching  the  word  of  life 
wherever  he  could  get  an  audience,  often  encountering 
much  opposition  and  even  personal  violence ;  and  inaugura- 
ted a  great  religious  revival,  affecting  all  classes  of  society 
in  and  out  of  "  The  Church,"  and  extending  itseK  eventu- 
ally throughout  the  world. 

Ordinarily,  and  until  the  infirmities  of  age  compelled  the 
use  of  a  chaise,  he  travelled  on  horseback,  or  Journeyed  on 
foot.  During  the  fifty-three  years  of  his  wonderful  career 
as  an  itinerant  preacher,  he  travelled,  it  is  thought,  about 
225,000  miles,  or  more  than  4,000  miles  yearly.  He  seldom 
preached  less  than  two  sermons  daily,  and  often  delivered 
three  or  four  sermons  or  addresses  the  same  day.  The 
whole  number  of  his  preaching-services  has  been  estimated 
at  not  less  than  40,000,  besides  "  an  infinite  number  of  ex- 
hortations to  the  societies  afteir  preaching,  and  in  other  oc- 
casional meetings."  He  lived  to  see  the  little  brotherhood 
of  1739  expanded,  in  1791,  to  216  Circuits,  served  by  511 
preachers,  and  counting  120,000  members. 

Mr.  Wesley  retained  his  Fellowship  in  Lincoln  College, 
Oxford,  until  February  18,  1751,  when  he  forfeited  it  by 
his  marriage  to  Mrs.  Yizelle,  a  widow  with  four  children 
and  a  considerable  fortune,  residing  in  Threadneedle  Street, 
London.  It  proved  to  be  an  unhappy  connection,  and  was 
practically  terminated,  by  her  leaving  him  (1771)  ten  years 
before  her  death. 

Until  past  four-score,  he  seemed  scarcely  conscious  of  any 
decline  of  vigor ;  but  early  in  1790,  he  felt  himself  to  be 
"  an  old  man,  decayed  from  head  to  foot. "  He  took  cold, 
February  17,  1791,  after  preaching  at  Lambeth.  On  the 
23d,  he  preached  his  last  sermon,  in  the  dining-room  of 
a  magistrate,  at  Leatherhead,  eightcon  miles  from  London, 
on  the  text,  "  Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found." 
Returning  home  to  London,  he  lingered  until  Wednesday, 
March  2,  1791,  when  he  rested  from  his  labors  on  earth. 
His  remains  were  interred  in  a  vault,  behind  the  Chapel  in 
City  I'oad.    He  left  no  children. 


JOHN  WESLEY.  663 

Like  his  brother,  Wesley  was  below  the  medium  size, 
spare,  well-proportioned,  muscular,  and  strong.  He  had  a 
clear,  smooth  forehead,  an  aquiline  nose,  and  piercing 
bright  eyes.  His  complexion  was  fresh,  and  his  step  firm 
and  strong.  He  was  a  pattern  of  neatness  and  simi)licity. 
His  benevolence  was  remarkable.  Everything  that  he 
earned  by  his  numerous  publications,  he  expended  on  the 
Lord's  work.  In  general  scholarship  and  knowledge,  he 
had  few  superiors.  His  familiarity  with  the  original  Greek 
of  the  New  Testament  was  remarkable.  In  the  pulpit,  his 
"  attitude  was  graceful  and  easy  ;  his  action  calm,  natural, 
pleasing,  and  expressive  ;  and  his  voice,  not  loud,  but  clear 
and  manly."  Conciseness,  brevity,  and  perspicuity  char- 
acterized his  style  as  a  wTiter. 

He  made  great  and  constant  use  of  the  press  ;  and  won- 
derful as  were  his  labors  as  a  preacher,  he  was  continually 
writing,  compiling,  and  publishing.  His  "Works"  were 
published,  shortly  after  his  death,  in  thirty-two  volumes 
octavo.  He  made  numerous  abridgments  of  voluminous 
publications,  for  the  use  of  his  "Societies."  His  "Chris- 
tian Library;  or  Extracts  and  Abridgments,  etc.,  from 
various  Writers,"  was  published  in  fifty  volumes.  The 
Wesleyan  Literature  to  which  he  gave  birth  is  of  immense 
proportions. 

As  a  poet,  John  Wesley,  though  correct  and  classical, 
does  not  compare  with  his  brother  Charles.  While  in  col- 
lege, he  indulged  in  versification  as  a  recreation,  but  con- 
fined himself  almost  exclusively  to  translations  from  other 
languages.  On  the  voyage  to  Savannah,  in  the  winter  of 
1735-6,  he  made  several  translations  of  German  hymns, 
some  of  which  were  included  in  the  Collection  of  seventy 
"  Psalms  and  Hymns  "  published  (1738)  by  John  Wesley, 
for  the  use  of  the  Society  worshiping  in  Fetter  Lane,  Lon- 
don. The  progress  of  the  work  of  grace  at  Bristol  called 
for  a  larger  book,  and,  in  1739,  he  published  139  "  Hymns 
and  Sacred  Poems  by  John  and  Charles  Wesley."  The 
"  Foundry "  having  been  opened  the  following  winter,  he 
issued,  in  1740,  another  volume  of  96  "  HjTuns  and  Sacred 


664  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Poems  by  Jolin  and  Charles  Wesley."    [See  Chaeles  Wes 

LEY.] 

The  small  "  Collection  "  of  1738  was  enlarged,  in  1741,  to 
165  hymns  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  Religious  Societies. 
In  1742,  John  Wesley  published  a  "  Collection  of  [24]  Ger- 
man Hymns";  and  "A  Collection  of  Thirty-six  Tunes  set 
to  Music,  as  they  are  sung  at  the  Foundry."  In  1743,  an- 
other edition  of  the  "  Collection,"  containing  138  hymns, 
was  issued ;  followed,  in  1744,  by  a  "  Collection  of  Moral 
and  Sacred  Poems,"  in  three  volumes.  Again,  in  1753,  an- 
other compilation  appeared,  as  "Hymns  and  Spiritual 
Songs  intended  for  the  Use  of  Christians  of  all  Denomina- 
tions." He  published,  also,  in  1761,  132  "Select  Hymns 
with  Tunes  annext."  These  several  compilations  were  the 
work  of  John  Wesley,  and  were  designed  chiefly  for  the 
use  of  the  "  Religious  Societies  "  in  his  Connection.  The 
Collection  of  1753,  enlarged  from  time  to  time,  had  reached 
the  twenty-first  edition  in  1777,  and  was  universally  used 
by  the  Methodists  in  England.  This  was  superseded,  in 
1780,  by  an  entirely  new  Compilation  of  520  pages,  and  560 
Hymns,  entitled,  "  A  Collection  of  Hymns  for  the  Use  of 
the  People  called  Methodists," — a  Collection,  which,  with 
a  "  Supplement "  of  209  Hymns  published  in  1830,  is  the 
authorized  Hymn -Book  of  the  Wesley  ans  in  England  to 
this  day. 

In  all  these  "  Collections  "  were  included  hymns  transla- 
ted from  the  German,  the  most  of  which  are  properly  cred- 
ited to  John  Wesley.  Some  of  them  have  lost  nothing  by 
appearing  in  an  English  dress.  Among  the  few  original 
hymns  from  his  pen,  the  most  remarkable  is  "  The  Chris- 
tian Pilgrim,"  of  which  the  following  three  (out  of  seven) 
stanzas  are  exceedingly  descriptive : 

' '  How  happy  is  the  pilgrim's  lot, 
How  free  from  every  anxious  thought, 

From  worldly  hope  and  fear ! 
Confined  to  neither  court  nor  cell. 
His  soul  disdains  on  earth  to  dwell, 
He  only  sojourns  here. 


SAMUEL  WESLEY.  665 

*'  No  foot  of  land  do  I  possess, 
No  cottage  in  this  wilderness ; 

A  poor  way-faring  man, 
I  lodge  awhile  in  tents  helow, 
Or  gladly  wander  to  and  fro, 

Till  I  my  Canaan  gain. 

"  Nothing  on  earth  I  call  my  own; 
A  stranger,  to  the  world  unknown, 

I  all  their  goods  despise ; 
I  trample  on  then-  whole  delight, 
And  seek  a  country  out  of  sight,   . 

A  country  in  the  skies." 


SAMUEL  WESLEY. 

1662-1735. 

The  father  of  the  "Founders  of  Methodism"  was  bom 
and  bred  a  Puritan.  He  was  the  son  of  a  non-conforming 
divine,  whose  father  was  ejected  from  his  parish  the  year  of 
his  grandson's  birth.  The  Puritan  spirit,  inherited  from 
his  ancestry,  gave  form  and  character  to  his  own  mental 
constitution.  "Wesley,  the  father,"  says  Isaac  Taylor, 
"  had  renounced  non-conformity  and  had  cordially  surren- 
dered himself  to  the  guidance  and  control  of  the  Church : 
he  had  put  off  the  dissident,  so  far  as  he  could,  or  as  far  as 
he  was  conscious  of  it ;  but  he  could  not  lay  down  that  non- 
conformity which  belonged  to  the  inner  man.  A  stem^ 
moral  force,  and  a  religious  individuality,  went  with  him 
into  the  Church,  nor  left  him  as  he  entered  it ;  and  it 
showed  itself  as  an  inherited  quality  in  his  sons." 

Samuel  Wesley's  grandfather,  Bartholomew  Westly,  was 
born  about  1595,  married  in  1619,  having  been  liberally  ed- 
ucated at  the  University  and  made  himself  familiar  with 
physic  as  well  as  divinity,  and  was  presented  (about  1640) 
to  the  living  of  Charmouth,  a  village  at  the  base  of  two 


THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

higli  hills  in  the  southwestern  extremity  of  Dorsetshire, 
England.  The  small  living  of  Catherston,  an  adjacent  vil- 
lage, was,  as  early  as  1650,  annexed  to  the  former.  He  was 
ejected  from  both  in  August,  1662,  and  supjDorted  himself 
and  family  subsequently,  until  his  death,  by  the  practice 
of  medicine.  He  survived  his  son,  John, — dying,  however, 
soon  after. 

John  Westley,  the  son  of  Bartholomew,  was  born  about 
1635,  was  dedicated  to  the  ministry  from  his  infancy,  and 
received  a  corresponding  education  in  his  boyhood.  After 
a  due  course  of  preparation,  he  was  entered  a  scholar  of 
l^ew  Inn  Hall,  Oxford,  about  1653,  graduating,  B.A.,  1657, 
As  he  was  a  member  of  the  Independent  Church  of  Mel- 
combe  Regis,  near  Weymouth,  in  the  southern  extremity 
of  Dorsetshire,  and  was  ordained  by  them  as  a  preacher,  it 
is  quite  probable  that  Melcombe  was  his  native  iDlace. 
Having  exercised  his  ministry  successfully  at  Melcombe, 
Radipole,  Turnwood,  and  at  sea,  he  succeeded  old  Mr. 
Tobias  Walton,  May,  1658,  at  Winterbourne  Whitchurch, 
near  Blandford,  Dorsetshire.  He  married  a  niece  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Fuller,  the  well-known  author  of  "  The 
Church  History  of  Britain."  They  had  two  sons,  Matthew 
and  Samuel,  and  several  daughters.  After  the  Restoration, 
he  was  subjected  to  many  trials,  and  even  imprisonment 
for  a  short  season.  In  August,  1662,  he  was  ejected  from 
Winterbourne.  A  kind  friend  offered  him  a  very  good 
house,  rent  free,  at  Preston,  near  Weymouth,  whither  he 
removed  the  next  May  ;  and  there,  with  short  interruptions 
by  persecution  and  imprisonment,  he  resided  until  his  de- 
cease, about  1677. 

Samuel  Westley  was  the  younger  son  of  the  Rev.  John 
Westley,  and  was  bom,  November,  1662,  at  Winterbourne 
Whitchurch,  just  after  his  father's  ejectment.  His  elder 
brother,  Matthew,  became  a  surgeon.  The  days  of  his  boy- 
hood were  spent  at  Preston.  At  a  suitable  age  he  was  sent 
to  the  Free  Grammar  School  at  Dorchester,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  his  father's  death,  at  which  time,  under  the 
instruction  of  Mr.  Henry  Dolling,  he  had  nearly  completed 


SAMUEL  WESLEY.  667 

his  preparation  for  the  University.  Being  a  youth  of  con- 
siderable promise,  he  was  sent  to  London,  March  8,  1678, 
without  his  mother's  application  or  charges,  by  some  of  the 
Dissenting  party,  to  be  entered  at  one  of  their  academies. 
After  spending  a  few  months  at  a  grammar-school  there, 
he  was  entered  at  a  private  academy  taught  by  the  Rev. 
Edward  Veal,  an  ejected  minister,  then  residing  at  Stepney, 
in  the  eastern  suburbs  of  London.  Here  he  remained  two 
years,  when  he  was  sent  to  the  academy  of  the  Rev.  Charles 
Morton,  at  Newington  Grreen.  Two  years  were  spent  with 
Mr.  Morton,  who  shortly  after  (1686)  emigrated  to  America, 
and  became  pastor  of  the  Church  of  Charlestown,  Mass.,  and 
Vice-President  of  Harvard  College.  "While  at  Stepney,  he 
attended  the  ministry  of  the  eminent  Stephen  Charnock. 
"  Before  the  close  of  1680,  he  had  taken  down  more  than 
fifty  of  his  sermons,  and  many  hundreds  of  others." 

Having  finished  the  course  of  study  at  Mr.  Morton's,  and 
having  determined  to  quit  the  Dissenters  and  conform,  he 
walked  to  Oxford,  and  entered  as  a  servitor  ["  pauper  scho- 
laris"]  of  Exeter  College.  He  took  his  degree  of  B.A., 
June  19,  1688.  Returning  to  London,  he  was  ordained, 
August  7,  1688,  a  deacon,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Tliomas  Sprat, 
Bishop  of  Rochester,  at  his  palace,  Bromley ;  and,  Febru- 
ary 24,  1689,  a  priest,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Compton, 
Bishop  of  London,  in  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Holborn.  The 
same  year,  he  married  Susannah,  the  youngest  daughter  of 
the  eminent  Dissenting  divine,  Samuel  Annesley,  LL.D., 
who  herself  had  some  years  before  conformed.  He  ob- 
tained a  curacy  for  a  year,  served  one  year  as  chaplain 
aboard  the  fleet,  and  then  obtained  another  curacy  for  two 
years.  He  was  then  presented,  through  the  influence  of 
the  Marquis  of  Normanby,  with  the  humble  living  of  South 
Ormsby,  in  Lincolnshire. 

In  1685,  while  at  Oxford,  he  had  published  a  face- 
tious work,  entitled,  "  Maggots,  or  Poems  on  several  Sub- 
jects never  before  handled,"  which  obtained  for  him  con- 
siderable notoriety.  John  Dunton,  his  brother-in-law, 
printed  it,  and  encouraged  him  to  write  for  the  press.     In 


668  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

this  way  he  had  supported  himself  in  the  University.  In 
company  with  Dunton  and  Richard  Sanlt,  he  conducted 
(1690-1696)  The  Athenian  Gazette^  a  sprightly  publication. 
His  facility  of  versification  was  so  great,  that  "  he  used  to 
write  two  hundred  couplets  a  day."  He  published,  in  1693, 
"  The  Life  of  our  Blessed  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ ; 
an  Heroic  Poem,  in  ten  books."  It  was  dedicated  to  Queen 
Mary,  who,  in  return,  presented  him  (1694)  with  the  living 
of  Epworth,  also  in  Lincolnshire, — a  market  town  of  about 
two  thousand  people,  whose  chief  occupation  was  the  cul- 
ture and  manufacture  of  hemp  and  flax.  "Not  a  man 
among  them  could  read  a  sermon  without  spelling  a  good 
part  of  it." 

Mr.  Wesley  (he  had  now  dropped  the  "t "  from  his  name) 
devoted  himself,  with  great  diligence,  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  spiritual  interests  of  his  parish,  and  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  literary  labors.  In  March,  1695,  he  published 
his  "  Elegies  on  Queen  Mary  and  on  Archbishop  Tillotson." 
His  "  Pious  Communicant,"  with  "  Prayers  and  HjTuns," 
appeared  in  1700.  The  same  year,  he  issued  "  An  Epistle 
to  a  Friend  concerning  Poetry," — a  poem  of  1,100  lines. 
"  Tlie  History  of  the  New  Testament ;  attempted  in  verse," 
appeared  in  1701 ;  followed,  in  1704,  by  "  The  History  of 
the  Old  Testament,"  also  in  verse.  A  Letter,  written  some 
years  before  in  respect  to  Education  among  the  Dissenters, 
got  into  print  (1703,  the  year  of  John's  birth),  which  pro- 
voked a  bitter  controversy,  and  drew  from  him  (1704)  "  A 
Defence"  of  his  Letter,  and,  in  1707,  "A  Reply  to  Mr. 
Palmer's  Vindication."  In  1705,  he  published  a  poem  of 
594  lines,  entitled,  "  Marlborough,  or  the  Fate  of  Europe," 
which  procured  him  a  chaplainship  in  the  army.  A  poem, 
with  the  title,  "Eupolis's  Hymn  to  the  Creator,"  which 
has  been  highly  eulogized,  completes  the  list  of  his  poetic 
works. 

The  humble  living  of  Wroote,  five  miles  distant,  was 
given  him  in  1725,  and  transferred  (1734)  at  his  own  request 
to  his  son-in-law,  Rev.  John  AVliitelamb.  The  last  six  or 
seven  years  of  his  life  were  mostly  occupied  ^vith  his  latest 


SAMUEL  WESLEY.  669 

and  most  elaborate  publication,  whicli  was  passing  tlirougli 
the  press  at  the  time  of  his  decease,  April  25, 1735.  The 
book  was  published  in  October  of  the  same  year,  and  enti- 
tled, "  Dissertationes  et  Conjecturse  in  Libruni  Jobi."  The 
Dissertations  were  fifty- three  in  number,  and  exhibited  a 
vast  amount  of  erudition. 

He  was  of  a  short  stature,  spare  but  athletic — his  son 
John  greatly  resembling  him.  He  was  earnest,  conscien- 
tious, indefatigable,  and  bold  in  his  search  for  truth.  He 
was  ardently  pious,  a  thorough  royalist  and  high-church- 
man, a  rigid  disciplinarian  in  his  house  and  in  his  church, 
a  profound  scholar,  a  ready  writer,  and,  withal,  impulsive 
and  vivacious.  All  his  life  he  was  burdened  with  debt, 
and  struggling  with  poverty.  He  lived  to  see  his  three 
sons  thoroughly  educated,  and  fully  enlisted  in  his  Mas- 
ter's service.  He  was  the  father  of  nineteen  children,  only 
ten  of  whom,  three  sons  and  seven  daughters,  survived 
their  infancy. 

The  following  lines  are  taken  from  his  "Epistle  to  a 
Friend,"  written  in  1700  : 

' '  I  envy  not  great  Dryden's  loftier  strain 
Of  arms  and  men,  designed  to  entertain 
Princes  and  courts,  so  I  but  please  the  plain. 
Nor  would  I  barter  profit  for  delight. 
Nor  would  have  writ  like  him :  like  him  to  write, 
If  there's  hereafter,  and  a  last  Great  Day, 
What  fire  's  enough  to  purge  his  stains  away  ? 
How  will  he  wish  each  lewd  applauded  line, 
Which  makes  vice  pleasing,  and  damnation  shine 
Had  been  as  dull  as  honest  Quarles',  or  mine ! 
With  sixty  years  of  lewdness  rest  content ; 
It  mayn't  be  yet  too  late !     Oh  !  yet  repent: 
E'en  thee  our  injured  altar  will  receive ; 
While  yet  there's  hope,  fly  to  its  arms  and  live ! 
So  shall  for  thee  their  harps  the  angels  string, 
And  the  returning  prodigal  shall  sing ; 
New  joys  through  all  the  heavenly  host  be  shown. 
In  numbers  only  sweeter  than  thy  own." 


670  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

SAMUEL  WESLEY,  Jun. 
1690-1739. 

Samuel  Wesley,  Juis".,  was  the  eldest  son  of  Rev. 
Samuel  Wesley,  and  the  first-born  of  his  mother,  Susan- 
nah Annesley.  He  was  born,  at  London,  February  10, 
1690,  and  was  thirteen  yeai-s  older  than  his  brother  John. 
His  childhood  was  passed  at  South  Ormsby  and  Epworth, 
Lincolnshire.  From  his  infancy  he  was  taught  by  one  of 
the  best  of  mothers  to  love  and  serve  God.  From  her 
faithful  instructions,  he  was  sent  (1704)  to  Westminster 
School,  London,  and,  in  1707,  was  admitted  a  King's  scholar 
of  St.  Peter's  College,  Westminster.  He  was  much  liked 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Sprat,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  who 
took  him  (1710)  to  his  seat  at  Bromley,  Kent,  to  read  to 
him  in  the  evenings. 

Having  acquired  the  character  of  an  excellent  classical 
scholar,  he  was  elected  (1711)  to  a  scholarship  in  Christ- 
church,  Oxford.  He  took  a  high  stand  at  the  University, 
and,  having  received  (1716)  his  degree  of  B.A.,  was  ap- 
pointed an  Usher  of  Westminster  School,  his  brother, 
John,  being  then  a  pupil  in  the  Charterhouse  School,  Lon- 
don, and  a  member  of  Samuel's  household.  The  latter 
man-ied  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Berry,  the  Rector  of 
Watton.  He  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Francis  Atterbury  (who  had  succeeded  his  old  friend, 
Dr.  Sprat,  in  the  See  of  Rochester),  by  whom,  also,  Mr. 
Wesley  was  very  highly  esteemed.  It  does  not  appear  that 
he  had,  at  any  time,  the  charge  of  a  parish,  or  a  curacy  ; 
his  preaching  was  occasional  only.  He  formed  the  friend- 
ship of  Alexander  Pope,  Lord  Oxford,  and  other  men  of 
distinction.  He  continued  at  Westminster  until  1732,  when 
he  was  appointed  Head  Master  of  the  Free  Grammar 
School,  at  Tiverton,  Devonshire. 

At  the  beginning  of  1736  (almost  simultaneously  with 
his  father's  book  on  Job),  he  published  a  Collection  of  his 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,   JUN.  671 

poetic  writings,  with  the  title,  "  Poems  on  Several  Occa- 
sions," dedicated  to  Ms  friend  and  patron,  the  Earl  of  Ox- 
ford. He  was  greatly  attached  to  the  High  Church  party, 
and  was  suspected  of  Jacobinism,  bnt  on  insufficient 
grounds.  He  disliked  greatly  the  irregularities  of  his 
brothers,  John  and  Charles,  and  earnestly  remonstrated 
with  them.  He  died  very  suddenly,  at  Tiverton,  early  in 
the  morning  of  November  6,  1739,  in  the  forty-ninth  year 
of  his  age.  The  inscription  on  his  grave-stone  describes 
him  as — "  A  man  for  his  uncommon  wit  and  learning,  for 
the  benevolence  of  his  temper,  and  simplicity  of  manners, 
deservedly  beloved  and  esteemed  by  all.  An  excellent 
Preacher ;  but  whose  best  sermon  was,  the  constant  ex- 
ample of  an  edifying  life  :  so  continually  and  zealously 
employed  in  acts  of  beneficence  and  charity,  that  he  truly 
followed  his  blessed  Master's  example  in  going  about  doing 
good :  of  such  scrupulous  integrity,  that  he  declined  occa- 
sions of  advancement  in  the  world,  through  fear  of  being 
involved  in  dangerous  compliances,  and  avoided  the  usual 
ways  to  preferment  as  studiously  as  many  others  seek 
them." 

One  of  his  sweetest  poems  is  a  paraphrase  on  Isaiah  xl. 
6-8,  and  was  written  on  the  occasion  of  a  young  lady's 
death.  It  was  first  published  (1729)  in  a  Collection  of  Mis- 
cellaneous Poems,  edited  by  David  Lewis  : 

*'  The  morning  flowers  display  their  sweets, 
And  gay  their  silken  leaves  iinfold ; 
As  careless  of  the  noon-day  heats, 
And  fearless  of  the  evening  cold. 

"  Nipped  by  the  wind's  unkindly  blast, 
Parched  by  the  sun's  du-ecter  ray, 
The  momentary  glories  waste, 
The  short-lived  beauties  die  away. 

'*  So  blooms  the  human  face  divine, 

When  youth  its  pride  of  beauty  shows; 
Fairer  than  spring  the  colors  shine, 
And  sweeter  than  the  virgin  rose. 


672  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

"  Or  worn  by  slowly  rolling  years, 
Or  broke  by  sickness  in  a  day, 
The  fading  glory  disappears, 

The  sbort-lived  beauties  die  away. 

"  Yet  these,  new  rising  from  the  tomb. 
With  lustre  brighter  far  shall  shine, 
Revive  with  ever-during  bloom. 
Safe  from  diseases  and  decline. 

"  Let  sickness  blast,  and  death  devour, 
If  heaven  must  recompense  our  pains  I 
Perish  the  gi'ass,  and  fade  the  flower. 
If  firm  the  word  of  God  remains." 


HENRY  KIRKE  WHITE. 

1785-1806. 

A  short  but  brilliant  career  was  all  that  was  allotted  to 
Henry  Kirke  White.  He  was  the  second  son  of  John  and 
Mary  [Neville]  White,  of  Nottingham,  England,  where  he 
was  born,  March  21, 1785.  His  father  was  a  butcher,  and 
the  family  were  connected  with  the  old  Castle-gate  Congre- 
gational Chnrch.  He  spent  his  fourth  and  fifth  years  in 
the  small  school  of  Dame  Garrington,  and  has  immortal- 
ized her  in  his  Poem  (1799)  on  "  Childhood  ": 

"  In  yonder  cot,  along  whose  mouldering  walls, 
In  many  a  fold,  the  mantling  woodbine  falls, 
The  village  matron  kept  her  little  school, 
Gentle  of  heart,  yet  knowing  weU  to  rule : 
Staid  was  the  dame,  and  modest  was  her  mien ; 
Her  garb  was  coarse,  yet  whole,  and  nicely  clean ; 
Her  neatly  bordered  cap,  as  lily  fair. 
Beneath  her  chin  was  pinned  with  decent  care ; 
And  pendent  ruffles,  of  the  whitest  lawn, 
Of  ancient  make,  her  elbows  did  adorn. 
Famt  with  old  age,  and  dim  were  grown  her  eyes, 
A  pair  of  spectacles  then*  want  supplies ; 
These  does  she  guard  secure  m  leathern  case. 
From  thoughtless  wights,  in  some  unweeted  place."  . 


HENRY  KIRKE  WHITE.  673 

At  six,  lie  was  sent  to  tlie  best  school  in  Nottingham, 
taught  by  the  Rev.  John  Blanchard,  where  he  sjDent  five 
years  in  grammar-school  studies,  inclusive  of  French.  At 
eleven,  he  wrote  in  one  day  a  separate  composition  for  each 
of  his  twelve  or  fourteen  classmates,  for  which  they  ob- 
tained particular  commendation.  Three  years  (1796-1799) 
were  spent  in  the  school  of  Mr.  Shipley,  Avhere  his  prog- 
ress was  rapid,  and  his  talents  were  fully  appreciated. 
Hitherto,  he  had  assisted  his  father,  as  errand-boy  and 
otherwise ;  but  his  mother  greatly  desired  to  give  him  a 
thorough  education,— and,  for  this  purpose,  opened  a  Ladies' 
Day  and  Boarding  School,  that  met  with  considerable  pa- 
tronage, and  afforded  her  means  to  aid  her  son  in  his  liter- 
ary aspirations. 

At  fourteen,  he  was  placed  in  a  stocking  loom,  where  he 
continued,  chafing  under  the  drudgery,  for  a  twelvemonth. 
The  next  year,  by  the  persistence  of  his  mother,  he  ob- 
tained a  situation  in  the  Law-office  of  Messrs.  Coldham 
and  Enfield,  of  his  native  town.  He  now  devoted  himself 
with  greediness,  to  the  study  of  the  law,  and  other  literary 
pursuits.  He  obtained  some  knowledge  of  chemistry, 
astronomy,  drawing,  music,  and  electricity;  also  of  the 
Latin  and  Greek,  of  the  Italian,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese, 
languages.  He  also  developed  a  mechanical  turn  of  mind. 
He  became  a  member  of  a  Literary  Society ;  lectured,  at 
fifteen,  for  two  hours  and  three-quarters,  extempore,  on 
"Genius";  and  was  elected  one  of  the  Professors  of  the 
Society.  He  wrote  for  several  magazines,  and  won  several 
prizes. 

At  a  very  early  age,  he  had  begun  to  write  in  verse  ;  and, 
at  the  instance  of  several  literary  friends,  he  published,  in 
1803,  a  volume  of  his  poetical  productions,  entitled, — "  Clif- 
ton Grove  ;  a  Sketch  in  Verse,  with  other  Poems. "  Hith- 
erto, as  his  associates  were  nearly  all  Deists,  he  had  inclined 
to  that  form  of  infidelity.  But  the  conversion  of  one  of 
them,  Robert  Almond,  and  several  conversations  with  him, 
were  blessed  to  his  own  conversion.  He  now  determined, 
if  possible,  to  enter  the  ministry ;  and,  with  that  intent,  to 
43 


674  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

obtain  a  University  education.  His  friend,  Almond,  had 
gone  to  Cambridge,  and  interested  the  Kev.  Charles  Sim- 
eon, Henry  Martyn,  and  others,  in  his  case.  Arrangements 
were  made  to  meet  the  expense  of  a  University  course.  He 
obtained  a  release  from  the  law-office,  and,  in  October,  1804, 
went  to  Winteringham,  on  the  Humber,  Lincolnshire,  to 
study  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Grainger. 

He  entered  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  as  a  sizar, 
early  in  October,  1805.  At  the  next  examination,  he  was 
adjudged  the  first  man  of  the  year ;  also,  at  the  great  ex- 
amination of  the  following  year.  He  had  a  fair  prospect 
of  obtaining  every  university  honor,  and  of  graduating  as 
senior-wrangler.  But  the  fraU  tenement  gave  way.  The 
seeds  of  consumption  had  been  sown,  by  reason  of  his  con- 
stant and  intense  application  to  study  night  and  day,  long 
before  he  left  home.  At  Cambridge,  he  suffered  himself  to 
abate  not  a  whit  in  the  ardor  of  his  literary  pursuit,  but,  to 
the  very  last,  gave  himself,  unremittingly,  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  knowledge.  At  length,  the  tension  came  to  an  end, 
his  life-strings  broke,  and  he  died,  in  college,  on  Sunday, 
October  19, 1806,  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  his  age. 

He  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  and 
promising  young  men  of  the  age.  Robert  Southey,  after- 
wards Poet  Laureate,  interested  himself  greatly  in  his  ris- 
ing fortunes,  and,  after  his  decease,  published  (1807)  his 
"  Remains," — poems,  correspondence,  and  essays, — with  an 
admirable  biographical  memoir.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Colly er,  in 
his  Selection  of  Hymns  (1812),  included  ten  of  White's 
hymns,  five  of  which  had  not  before  appeared.  Lord  By- 
ron, less  than  three  years  younger,  was  at  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge,  while  White  was  at  St.  John's,  and  until  the 
year  after  his  decease.  In  his  caustic  reply  to  the  Edin- 
burgh Reviewers,  entitled,  "  English  Bards  and  Scotch  Re- 
viewers," published,  March,  1809,  he  makes  mention  of 
Henry  Kirke  White,  in  the  following  paragraph : 

"Unhappy  White!  while  life  was  in  its  spring, 
And  thy  young  muse  just  waved  her  joyous  wing, 


HENEY  KIRKE  WHITE.  675 

The  spoDer  came ;  and  all  thy  promise  fair 
Has  sought  the  grave  to  sleep  for  ever  there. 
Oh !  what  a  nohle  heart  was  here  undone, 
When  Science'  self  destroyed  her  f av'rite  son ! 
Yes  1  she  too  much  indulged  thy  fond  pursuit, 
She  sowed  the  seeds,  but  death  has  reaped  the  fruit. 
'Twas  thine  own  genius  gave  the  final  blow, 
And  helped  to  plant  the  wound  that  laid  thee  low. 
So  the  struck  eagle,  stretched  upon  the  plain. 
No  more  through  rolling  clouds  to  soar  again, 
Viewed  his  own  feather  on  the  fatal  dart. 
And  winged  the  shaft  that  quivered  in  his  heart. 
Keen  were  his  pangs,  but  keener  far  to  feel 
He  nursed  the  pinion  which  impelled  the  steel ; 
While  the  same  plumage  that  had  warmed  his  nest, 
Drank  the  last  life-drop  of  his  bleeding  breast." 

A  portion  of  his  poems  was  left  incomplete.  Among 
these  is  the  hymn, 

"  Much  in  sorrow,  oft  in  woe,"  etc., 

of  which  only  the  first  ten  lines  were  his.  They  were 
"  written  on  the  back  of  one  of  the  mathematical  papers  " 
of  White,  and  the  fragment  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  CoUyer,  who  published  it  in  his  Selection.  The 
remaining  fourteen  lines,  as  now  sung,  were  written  by 
Fanny  Fuller  Maitland,  and  the  hymn,  thus  completed, 
was  included  (1827)  in  her  "  Hymns  for  Private  Devotion, 
Selected  and  Original." 

"  The  Christian  :  A  Divine  Poem,"  was  the  last  and  most 
elaborate  effort  of  his  muse.  He  had  "the  sentence  of 
death  in  "  himself,  when  he  wrote  the  last  two  stanzas : 

"  Thus  far  have  I  pursued  my  solemn  theme 

With  self -rewarding  toil,  thus  far  have  sung 
Of  godlike  deeds,  far  loftier  than  beseem 

The  lyre  which  I  m  early  days  have  strung; 

And  now  my  spirits  faint,  and  I  have  hung 
The  shell,  that  solaced  me  in  saddest  hour. 

On  the  dark  cypress !  and  the  strings  which  rung 
With  Jesus'  praise,  their  hai'pings  now  are  o'er. 
Or,  when  the  breeze  comes  by,  moan,  and  are  heard  no  more. 


676  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

**  And  must  tlie  harp  of  Judah  sleep  again  ? 

Shall  I  no  more  reanimate  the  lay  ? 
O  thou,  who  visitest  the  sons  of  men, — 

Thou,  who  dost  listen  when  the  humble  pray  1 

One  little  space  prolong  my  mournful  day, — 
One  httle  lapse  suspend  thy  last  decree ! 

I  am  a  youthful  traveller  in  the  way, 
And  this  slight  boon  would  consecrate  to  thee. 
Ere  I  with  Death  shake  hands,  and  smile  that  I  am  free." 


HELEN  MARIA  WILLIAMS. 

1762-1827. 

The  hymn  beginning 

"Whilst  thee  I  seek,  protecting  Power  I " 

has  long  been  a  great  favorite  with  Christians  of  every 
name.  It  is  found  in  almost  all  the  Collections,  and,  more 
than  all  her  other  publications,  has  kept  the  name  of  the 
author  in  remembrance.  In  her  day,  she  was  quite  a  noted 
character. 

Helen  Maria  Williams  was  a  native  of  London,  where 
she  was  born  in  1762,  Her  father,  Charles  Williams,  of 
Aberconway,  Caernarvon,  Wales,  held  a  high  station  in  the 
War  Office.  Her  mother  was  Miss  Hay,  of  Naughton,  of 
Scotch  ancestry.  In  her  early  years,  the  family  removed 
to  Berwick-on-Tweed,  where  she  obtained  her  education, 
and  wrote  (1779)  her  first  poem, — "  Edwin  and  Elfrida,  a 
Legendary  Tale."  The  next  year,  she  came  to  London,  and, 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Andrew  Kippis,  a 
Unitarian  divine,  published  (1782)  her  book.  She  was  en- 
couraged to  publish,  the  next  year  (1783),  an  "  Ode  on  the 
Peace."  This  was  followed  by  "  Peru,  a  Poem  "  (1784) ; 
and  these  three  publications  were  included  in  a  "  Collection 
of  Miscellaneous  Poems"  (1786),  in  two  volumes.     Two 


HELEN  MARIA  WILLIAMS.  677 

years  later  (1788),  she  published  a  "Poem  on  the  Slave 
Trade,"  in  "easy,  harmonious  verse." 

Her  works  having  furnished  her  a  considerable  profit, 
she  went  abroad  in  1788,  the  era  of  the  French  Revolution, 
and  was  so  fascinated  with  the  life  in  Paris,  that,  early  in 
1790,  she  expatriated  herself,  and  took  up  her  abode  in  the 
turbulent  French  metropolis,  having  just  published  her 
novel,  "  Julia,"  in  two  volumes.  In  the  autumn,  she  issued 
her  "Letters  written  in  France  in  the  Summer  of  1790." 
"  A  Farewell,  for  Two  Years,  to  England :  a  Poem,"  ap- 
peared in  1791 ;  "  Letters  from  France,"  in  1792 ;  and 
"  Letters,  containing  a  Sketch  of  the  Politics  of  France,"  3 
vols.,  in  1795.  In  this  publication,  she  narrates  her  experience, 
while  imprisoned  in  the  Temple,  from  which  she  was  liber- 
ated on  the  fall  (1794)  of  Robespierre.  A  fourth  volume, 
on  the  same  topics,  followed  in  1796.  The  same  year  was 
issued  her  Translation  of  "  Paul  and  Virginia,"  from  the 
French  of  Bernardin  de  Saint-Pierre,  interspersed  with 
some  of  her  own  sonnets.  She,  also,  edited  (1796)  a  Se- 
lection of  "  Poems,  Moral,  Elegant,  and  Pathetic." 

She  had  now  become  wholly  identified  with  the  "  Revo- 
lution," and  alienated  from  her  British  home.  In  the  in- 
terest of  the  "  Grand  Republic,"  she  published,  in  two  vol- 
umes (1798),  "A  Tour  in  Switzerland,"  and  (1800)  her 
"Sketches  of  the  State  of  Manners  and  Opinions  in  the 
French  Republic,"  for  which  she  was  severely  handled  by 
the  British  Critic.  This  was  followed  by  her  Translation 
(1803),  in  three  volumes,  of  "  The  Political  and  Confidential 
Correspondence  of  Louis  XYL,  with  Observations  on  each 
Letter."  For  several  years  she  contributed  to  the  New  An- 
nual Register  the  Articles  on  "France."  She  translated, 
also,  "  The  Personal  Travels  of  M.  de  Humboldt,"  four  vol- 
umes of  which  she  published  in  1814,  and  the  remainder  in 
1821. 

Her  later  Works  were  :  "  A  Narrative  of  the  Events  "  "  in 
France  from  the  landing  of  Napoleon  Buonaparte,  March 
1, 1815,  till  the  Restoration  of  Louis  XVIII."  (1815) ;  "  The 
Leper  of  the  City  of  Aoste,"  a  translation  from  the  French 


678  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

(1817) ;  and  (1819)  "  Letters  on  the  Events  which  have 
passed  in  France  since  the  Eestoration  in  1815."  This  last 
book  contained  her  account  of  "  The  Persecutions  of  the 
Protestants  in  the  South  of  France."  In  1823,  she  pub- 
lished "  Poems  on  Various  Occasions," — a  Collection  of  her 
previous  Poems. 

She  died,  at  Paris,  December  14,  1827,  "pre-eminent 
among  the  ardent  female  advocates  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion"; "an  ex- Jacobin,  and  one  who  took  as  active  a  part 
in  the  business  of  the  French  Revolution  as  a  woman  could 
take"; — "the  friend  and  admirer  of  Marat,  and  of  various 
other  equally  enlightened  assertors  of  the  liberties  of  man- 
kind at  that  period."  Her  widowed  mother  resided  with 
her  in  Paris,  and  the  two  were  conspicuous  members  of  the 
Protestant  congregation  over  which  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Ra- 
baut,  Monod,  Marron,  and  Coquerel  (Athanase)  presided. 
The  latter  was  her  nephew  and  adopted  son.  She  "  filled 
a  mother's  vacant  place  "  for  him  and  his  brother  Charles, 
and  brought  them  up. 

Coquerel,  in  the  Preface  to  his  "  Christianisme  Experi- 
mental," speaks  of  her  as  "  one  of  the  most  remarkable  fe- 
male writers  of  modern  times,  who  justly  bears  the  title  of 
*  English  Historian  of  the  French  Revolution,'  whose  works 
have  been  translated  into  all  modern  languages  ;  and  "  who 
"  remained  to  the  last  the  friend  of  Clarkson  and  Wilber- 
force,  of  Southey,  Wordsworth,  and  Rogers,  of  Mrs.  Bar- 
bauld  and  Mrs.  Opie."  He  further  states, — "The  constant 
example  of  domestic  piety  set  at  home,  led  me,  when  yet 
very  young,  to  the  determination  of  waiving  the  wide  and 
brilliant  prospect  of  various  advancement  which  our  fam- 
ily connexions  opened  to  us  during  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment, and  of  entering  the  Church." 

Her  "  Sonnet  to  Hope,"  greatly  admired  by  Wordsworth, 
is  subjoined : 

"  Oh !  ever  skilled  to  wear  the  form  we  love, 
To  bid  the  shapes  of  fear  and  grief  depart, 
Come,  geutle  Hope !  with  one  gay  smile  remove 
The  lasting  sadness  of  an  achmg  heart. 


WILLIAM  WILLIAMS.  679 

Thy  voice,  benign  enchantress!  let  me  hear; 

Say,  that  for  me  some  pleasures  yet  shall  bloom, 
That  Fancy's  radiance,  Friendship's  precious  tear, 

Shall  soften,  or  shall  chase,  misfortune's  gloom. 
But,  come  not  glowing  in  the  dazzling  ray. 

Which  once  with  dear  illusions  charmed  my  eye. 
Oh !  strew  no  more,  sweet  flatterer !  on  my  way 

The  flowers  I  fondly  thought  too  bright  to  die; 
Visions  less  fair  will  soothe  my  pensive  breast. 
That  asks  not  happiness,  but  longs  for  rest." 


WILLIAM  WILLIAMS. 

1717-1791. 

The  "Great  Awakening"  of  the  eighteenth  century  ex- 
tended  into  Wales,  at  an  early  date,  and  was  greatly  pro- 
moted by  the  apostolic  labors  of  the  Rev.  William  Will- 
iams. He  was  born  (1717)  at  Cefnycoed,  near  Llandovery, 
Caermarthenshire.  He  was  educated  for  the  medical  pro- 
fession. The  stirring  preaching  of  the  zealous  Howell  Har- 
ris, in  Talgarth  church-yard,  was  blessed  to  his  conversion. 
He  devoted  himself  to  the  Church,  and,  after  a  due  course 
of  preparation,  having  been  ordained  (1740)  a  deacon,  was 
presented  to  two  small  churches,  in  Breconshire,  about 
twelve  miles  from  Llandovery.  Following  the  example  of 
Harris,  Whitefield,  and  the  Wesleys,  he  abounded  in  pul- 
pit service,  and  extended  his  labors  all  over  the  country. 
Nearly  a  score  of  times,  he  was  summoned  before  his  dioc- 
esan and  tried  for  these  iiTegularities.  For  the  same  rea- 
son he  was  denied  ordination  to  the  priesthood. 

He  now  withdrew  from  the  Church  of  England,  and  en- 

.  tered  the  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodist  Connection,  as  an 

itinerant  preacher,  associating  himself  with  the  eminent 

Daniel  Rowlands,  one  of  the  most  successful  preachers  of 

the  day.     In  1739,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Francis,  in  whom 


680  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

lie  found  an  admirable  companion  and  adviser.  Taking 
the  Principality  as  his  field  of  labor,  he  went  everywhere 
preaching  the  Word  to  his  countrymen,  and  winning  thou- 
sands to  "  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus."  During  a  ministry 
of  forty-five  years,  he  seldom  travelled  less  than  forty  miles 
a  week,  or- 2,000  miles  a  year.  He  resided,  when  at  home, 
at  Pantycelyn,  in  the  parish  of  Llanfair-ar-y-bryn,  near 
Llandovery. 

At  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  Association  with  which  he 
was  connected,  a  trial  was  made  of  the  poetic  gifts  of  the 
several  preachers  present ;  and  such  was  the  manifest  supe- 
riority of  Williams,  that  he  was  urged  to  cultivate  the  gift, 
and  prepare  an  evangelical  psalmody  for  the  Connection. 
He  prepared  a  book  of  Welsh  Hymns,  which  was  published 
as  the  "Alleluia.''  It  was  printed  (1745-1747)  in  six  parts, 
at  Bristol.  Another  book,  called  "  The  Sea  of  Glass,"  fol- 
lowed in  1752  ;  still  another,  entitled,  "  Visible  Farewell, 
Welcome  to  Invisible  Things";  and  a  fourth,  called,  "Al- 
leluia again."  These  books,  gathered  subsequently  into 
one  volume,  were  speedily  adopted,  and  are  still  used,  by 
the  churches  in  the  Principality  of  Wales. 

Shortly  after  his  first  "  Alleluia,"  he  published,  in  verse, 
"A  View  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ";  also,  a  Translation 
of  Erskine  on  "The  Assurance  of  Faith";  also  (1781),  a 
soii:  of  Pilgrim's  Progress,  called  "  Theomemphus,"  and  an 
excellent  book  by  the  name  of  "  Pantheologia."  He  wTote 
not  less  than  forty  elegies,  one  of  them  for  Whitefield 
(1771),  of  considerable  length. 

His  prose  writings  were  not  so  numerous.  Besides  other 
and  smaller  works,  he  published  (1768)  "  Three  Men  from 
Sodom  and  Egypt ";  and,  later,  "  The  Crocodile  of  the  River 
of  Egypt."  Though  not  as  familiar  vvdth  the  English  as 
with  the  old  British  tongue,  he  composed  many  hymns  in 
English,  fifty-one  of  which"  were  published,  at  Bristol 
(1759),  with  the  title,—"  Hosannah  to  the  Son  of  David ; 
or  Hymns  of  Praise  to  God  for  our  Glorious  Redemption 
by  Christ."  Some  of  them  were  translations  of  his  Welsh 
hjTuns.     In  1772,  he  published  his  "  Gloria  in  Excelsis :  or 


WILLIAM  WILLIAMS.  681 

Hymns  of  Praise  to  God  and  the  Lamb."  It  contained  sev- 
enty-one Hymns,  the  last  of  which  was  divided  into  seven 
parts.  These  two  volumes  were  reproduced  in  one  (1859), 
by  Mr.  Daniel  Sedgwick,  of  London.  The  latter  of  the  two 
is  said  to  have  been  composed  at  the  request  of  Lady  Hunt- 
ingdon. 

He  died,  after  a  lingering  and  painful  illness,  at  his  home, 
January  11,  1791,  aged  seventy-four  years.  The  Gentle- 
man's Magazine  speaks  of  him  as  "  a  clergyman  of  distin- 
guished talents  and  character."  It  says  :  "In  early  life,  a 
pious  but  amiable  enthusiasm  induced  him  to  adopt  the 
itinerant,  but  apostolic,  mode  of  Methodism ;  and  uniting 
a  talent  for  poetry  to  an  insinuating  and  captivating  elo- 
quence, he  contributed  greatly  to  its  prevalence  and  sup- 
port." "  Many  of  his  hymns  have  the  property  of  the  ode, 
true  poetic  &e,  striking  imagery,  and  glowing  expressions, 
united  with  the  plaintive  muse  of  the  country.  Their  ef- 
fect on  the  people  is  astonishing ;  and  the  veneration  in 
which  they  are  held  is  little  short  of  devotion."  "His  im- 
agination gave  variety  and  interest  to  his  orations  ;  his  pi- 
ety was  warm,  yet  candid  and  charitable ;  his  manners  sim- 
ple, yet  affectionate  and  obliging ;  and  his  moral  conduct 
without  blemish  or  imputation." 

The  hymn  beginning 


Guide  me,  O  thou  great  Jehovah 


f" 


a  great  favorite,  was  printed  in  a  leaflet  form  in  1773,  and 
is  a  translation,  by  himself,  of  one  of  his  Welsh  hymns. 
Three  only  of  its  four  stanzas  are  now  used.  The  following 
stanzas  from  the  22d  hymn  of  his  "  Gloria  "  are  quite  char- 
acteristic : 

"  My  God,  my  Portion,  and  my  Love, 
My  All  on  earth,  my  AU  above, 
My  AU  when  in  the  tomb ! 
The  treasures  of  this  world  below 
Are  but  a  vain  delusive  show, — 
Thy  bosom  is  my  home. 


682  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Or  friends,  or  wealth,  relations  near, 
And  every  thing  the  world  calls  dear. 

Are  vanity  and  night ; 
Thyself,  who  fillest  every  space. 
Wilt  thoroughly  supply  their  place, — 
Thyself,  my  whole  dehght." 


CATHERINE  WINKWORTH. 

1829-1878. 

Miss  Wo^kworth  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  Wink- 
worth,  of  Alderley,  near  Manchester,  England.  She  was 
born,  September  13, 1829,  at  London,  and  died  in  the  year 
1878.  She  is  known,  principally,  by  her  valuable  contribu- 
tions to  hymnology.  Her  familiarity  with  the  German 
language,  and  its  wealth  of  spiritual  songs,  is  apparent  in 
her  several  publications. 

The  first  publication  of  Miss  Winkworth  was  her 
"  Lyra  Germanica — Hymns  for  the  Sundays  and  Chief 
Festivals  of  the  Christian  Year.  Translated  from  the  Ger- 
man." The  Preface  is  dated,  "Alderley  Edge,  July  16th, 
1855."  It  contained  translations  of  103  hymns  selected 
from  the  Chevalier  Bunsen's  "  Gesang  und  Gebetbuch,"  of 
1833.  They  were  "  translated,"  she  says,  "  not  so  much  as 
specimens  of  German  hymn-writing,  as  in  the  hope,  that 
these  utterances  of  Christian  piety,  which  have  comforted 
and  strengthened  the  hearts  of  many  true  Christians  in 
their  native  country,  may  speak  to  the  hearts  of  some 
among  us,  to  help  and  cheer  those  who  must  strive  and 
suffer,  and  to  make  us  feel  afresh  what  a  deejD  and  true 
communion  of  saints  exists  among  all  the  childi^en  of  God 
in  different  churches  and  lands." 

The  success  of  her  first  effort  emboldened  her  to  prepare 
and  issue  (1858)  "  Lyra  Germanica :  Second  Series  :  The 
Christian  Life."    The  123  hymns  in  this  series  were  "se- 


CATHERINE  WINKWORTH.  683 

lected  for  their  warmtli  of  feeling  and  depth  of  Christian 
experience,  rather  than  as  specimens  of  a  particular  master 
or  school."  An  edition  of  the  "Lyra," containing  some  of 
the  fine  old  German  Chorales  to  which  the  hymns  are  sung 
in  Germany,  by  vast  congregations,  was  published  (1862) 
with  the  title,  "The  Chorale  Book  for  England." 

Miss  Wink  worth,  the  next  year  (1863),  published  an  Eng- 
lish translation  of  the  "  Life  of  Amelia  Wilhelmina  Sieve- 
king,"  the  Foundress  of  the  Female  Society  for  the  Care 
of  the  Sick  and  Poor  in  Hamburg,  Germany.  Her  "  Chris- 
tian Singers  of  Germany,"  the  Preface  to  which  is  dated, 
"  Clifton,  April,  1869,"  contains  a  fund  of  desirable  infor- 
mation respecting  the  principal  hymn- writers  of  Germany, 
from  "  the  early  dawn  of  German  Sacred  Poetry  and  Song," 
to  the  middle  of  the  present  century.  She  published  later, — 
"  Palm  Leaves :  Sacred  Poems  Selected  and  Translated  from 
the  German  of  Karl  Gerok." 

The  following  stanzas  are  from  a  hymn  of  twelve  stan- 
zas, "  for  the  twentieth  Sunday  after  Trinity,"  in  the  First 
Series  of  the  "Lyra  Germanica": 

"  Oh !  would  I  had.  a  thousand  tongues, 
To  sound  thy  praise  o'er  land  and  sea ! 
Oh !  rich  and  sweet  should  be  my  songs, 
Of  all  my  God  has  done  for  me ; 

With  thankfulness  my  heart  must  often  swell, 

But  mortal  lips  thy  praises  faintly  tell. 

'*  Oh !  that  my  voice  coxild  far  resound 

Up  to  yon  stars  that  o'er  me  shine ! 
"Would  that  my  blood  for  joy  might  bound 

Through  every  vein,  while  life  is  mine ! 
Would  that  each  pulse  were  gratitude,  each  breath 
A  song  to  him  who  keeps  me  safe  from  death ! " 


684  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

• 

ALFRED  ALEXANDER  WOODHULL. 
1810-1836. 

Alfeed  Alexaistdee  Woodhull,  M.D.,  was  the  younger 
son  of  the  Rev.  George  Spafford  Woodhull,  and  was  born, 
March  25,  1810,  at  Cranbury,  N.  J.  His  mother  was  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Col.  John  Neilson,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.,  an  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  a 
citizen  of  great  worth,  and  highly  respected.  His  father 
(1773-1834)  was  the  eldest  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Wood- 
hull,  D.D.  (1744-1824),  for  more  than  half  a  century,  a 
useful,  devoted,  and  honored  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  pastor  of  the  church  of  Freehold,  N.  J.  Rich- 
ard Woodhull,  his  first  American  ancestor,  came  (1648) 
from  England,  and  settled  on  Long  Island,  N.  Y.  Dr. 
John  Woodhull  married  Miss  Sarah  Spafford,  of  Philadel- 
phia (a  step-daughter  of  the  Rev,  Gilbert  Tennent),  a  lady 
of  great  worth  and  piety. 

At  the  time  of  Alfred's  birth,  his  father  had,  for  twelve 
years,  been  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Cran- 
bury, N.  J. ;  but  in  1820  (July  5)  he  became  the  pastor  of 
the  church  of  Princeton,  N.  J.,  where  he  continued  twelve 
years,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  church  of  Middle- 
town  Point,  N,  J.,  where  he  died,  December  25,  1834. 

Alfred  was  prepared  for  college  under  the  tuition  of  the 
Rev.  Robert  Baird,  D.D.,  then  a  young  man.  Entering 
the  Sophomore  Class  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  at 
Princeton,  he  graduated  in  1828,  and  began  the  study  of 
medicine  with  Prof.  Samuel  L.  Howell,  M.D.,  also  of  Prince- 
ton. Having  attended,  for  two  years,  the  regular  course  of 
lectures  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  he  received  the 
degree  of  M.D.,  and  was  appointed  Attending  [Resident] 
Physician  of  the  Philadelphia  Aims-House  Hospital,  for 
one  year.  At  the  expiration  of  the  year,  he  commenced 
the  regular  practice  of  his  profession  at  ^larietta,  Lancaster 
Co.,  Pa.     Soon  after  (February  26, 1833),  he  married  Miss 


ALFRED  ALEXANDER  WOODHULL,  685 

Anna  Maria,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Dr.  Dirch  Salomons,  of 
St.  Eustasia,  West  Indies,  and  of  Susan  Smith,  daughter  of 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  D.D.,  one  of  the  Presi- 
dents of  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 

He  removed,  in  November,  1835,  to  Princeton,  and  en- 
tered upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  there,  in  partner- 
ship with  his  elder  brother.  Dr.  John  N.  WoodhuU.  He 
had  connected  himself,  the  previous  year,  with  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Donegal,  Pa.,  and,  both  there  and  In 
Princeton,  was  known  as  a  sincere,  devout,  and  humble 
Christian.  In  the  exercise  of  his  profession,  he  contracted 
an  autumnal  fever,  which  terminated  fatally,  October  5, 
1836.  Though  he  had  but  just  completed  the  first  half  of 
his  twenty-seventh  year,  he  had  already  obtained  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  his  feUow-citizens  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree, and  was  most  deeply  and  sincerely  lamented.  A  most 
glowing  eulogy  of  his  character,  as  a  Christian,  a  scholar, 
and  a  practitioner,  was  published  in  the  Princeton  Whig, 
shortly  after  his  death,  from  the  pen  of  Prof.  Albert  B. 
Dod,  D.D.,  to  whom  he  had  greatly  endeared  himself. 

He  was  addicted  to  versification,  and  wrote  occasional 
poems,  generally  religious,  several  of  which  were  contrib- 
uted to  the  New  TorTc  Observer.  His  "Thanksgiving 
Hymn," 

"  God  of  the  passing  year!  to  thee,"  etc., 

was  a  youthful  production,  and  was  contributed  (1828)  to 
the  General  Assembly's  Collection  of  "  Psalms  and  Hymns." 
During  his  last  illness,  in  the  near  approach  of  death,  he 
dictated  the  following  beautiful  stanzas : 

"  There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God^ 

"  Traveller!  dost  thou  hear  the  tidings 
Borne  unto  thy  weary  ear, 
Soft  as  angels'  gentlest  whispers 
Breathing  from  the  upper  sphere, 

Sweetly  telling, 
Thy  redemption  now  is  near  ? 


THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  In  the  desert's  gloomy  terrors, 
'Mid  the  tempest's  booming  roar, 
Hark !  the  still  small  voice  of  mercy 
Breaking  from  yon  peaceful  shore, 

Sweetly  telling. 
All  thy  toil  will  soon  be  o'er. 

**  Mourner !  when  the  tear  of  sorrow 
Wells  from  up  thy  stricken  breast, 
Raise  thy  streaming  eyes  to  mansions 
Where  the  weary  are  at  rest. 

Sweetly  telling, 
Here  thou'lt  be  a  welcome  guest. 

" Mortal!  when  death's  viewless  arrow 
Quivers  in  thy  fluttering  heart, 
Lift  thy  lapsing  thoughts  to  Jesus, 
Who  disarms  the  fatal  dart. 

Sweetly  telling, 
I  to  thee  my  peace  impart." 


CHRISTOPHER  WORDSWORTH. 

1807 . 

Bishop  Woedswoeth  is  of  a  literary  family,  and  was 
highly  favored  in  his  early  surroundings.  His  father, 
whose  name  he  bears,  was  Master  of  Trinity  College,  Cam- 
bridge, England  (1820-1841),  and  author  of  an  "  Ecclesias- 
tical Biography,"  and  "Christian  Institutes."  His  mother 
was  Priscilla,  a  daughter  of  Charles  Lloyd,  Esq.,  an  emi- 
nent banker  of  Birmingham.  WUliam  Wordsworth,  the 
Poet  Laureate,  was  his  father's  elder  brother.  His  grand- 
father, John  Wordsworth,  was  learned  in  the  law,  of  which 
he  was  a  successful  practitioner.  His  elder  brother,  Charles, 
is  the  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  Dunkeld,  and  Dunblane. 

Christopher  Wordsworth  was  born,  October  30, 1807,  at 
Bocking,  Braintree,  Essex,  of  which  his  father,  at  the  time, 


CHRISTOPHEK  WORDSWORTH.  687 

was  Dean  and  Rector.  He  was  educated  for  tlie  ministiy  ; 
prepared  for  college  at  Westminster  School ;  entered  (1826) 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge  (of  whicli  his  father  was  the 
Master,  and  Yice-Chancellor  of  the  University) ;  received 
(1827)  the  Chancellor's  Gold  Medal  for  the  best  English 
Poem,— Subject,  "The  Druids";  in  1828,  took  the  Porson 
prize,  for  the  best  translation  of  a  passage  from  Shakespeare 
into  Greek  verse,  and  the  Sir  AVm.  Browne  Medal  for  the 
best  Latin  Ode,— Subject,  "Hannibal";— also  his  Medal  for 
the  best  Greek  and  Latin  Epigrams ;  in  1830,  took  one  of 
the  Chancellor's  Gold  Medals  for  the  two  best  proficients 
in  classical  learning  among  the  commencing  Bachelors  of 
Arts  ;  and  the  same  year,  took  his  degree  of  A.B.,  and  was 
chosen  a  Fellow  of  his  College,  having  completed  a  bril- 
liant University  career. 

The  greater  part  of  the  years  1832  and  1833,  he  spent  in 
Greece,  of  which  visit  he  published  a  Journal,  by  the 
name  of  "  Athens  and  Attica,"—"  a  gem  of  classical  criti- 
cism and  research."  In  July,  1833,  he  took  his  degree  of 
A.M.  ;  December  22, 1833,  was  ordained  a  Deacon,  by  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  ;  and  June  7,  1835,  a  Priest,  by  the 
Bishop  of  Carlisle.  He  was  elected,  February  3, 1836,  Pub- 
lic Orator  of  the  University  of  Cambridge  ;  and,  in  April, 
Head  Master  of  Harrow  School,  occupying  the  position  un- 
til November,  1844.  "  By  Royal  Mandate,"  he  received  the 
degree  of  D.D.,  in  1838,  from  the  University  of  Cambridge. 
The  same  year  he  man-ied  Susanna  Hatley,  a  daughter  of 
George  Frere,  Esq.,  of  Twyford  House,  Berkshire. 

His  "  Inscriptiones  Pompeianse  "  was  published  in  1837  ; 
his  "Greece:  Pictorial,  Descriptive,  and  Historical,"  in 
1839  ;  his  "  Sermons  Preached  at  Harrow  School,"  in  1841 ; 
his  "  Theophilus  Anglicanus,"  in  1843  ;  and  his  "  Discourses 
on  Public  Education,"  in  1844.  He  was  preferred  (1844), 
by  Sir  Robert  Peel,  to  a  Canonry  in  Westminster  Abbey. 
He  was  Hulsean  Lecturer  at  Cambridge,  1847-1848,  and 
1848-1849,  and  his  two  Courses  of  Lectures  were  published, 
"  On  the  Canon  of  the  Scriptures,"  and  on  "  The  Apoca- 
lypse."   He  also  published  his  "  Diary  in  France  "  (1845) ; 


688  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"Letters  on  the  Church  of  Eome"  (1847);  "Babylon" 
(ISoO) ;  " Memoirs  of  Wm.  Wordsworth"  (1851) ;  "  St.  Hip- 
polytus  and  the  Church  of  Rome  "  (1853) ;  and  his  edition 
of  "  The  New  Testament  in  the  Original  Greek,"  with 
"Copious  English  Notes,"  4  Parts,  in  1856-1860.  Seven 
volumes  of  "  Sermons  Preached  in  Westminster  Abbey " 
were  issued  intermediately  (1850-1859).  These  were  fol- 
lowed by  "  Five  Lectures  delivered  in  Westminster  Abbey," 
"  on  the  Inspiration  of  the  Bible,"  and  "  Five "  more  on 
"the  Interpretation  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,"  in 
1861. 

His  favorite  hymns  mostly  appeared  in  his  "  Holy  Year  ; 
or,  [117]  Hymns  for  Sundays  and  Holy-Days  and  for  other 
Occasions  "  (1862).  His  "  Journal  of  a  Tour  in  Italy  "  ap- 
peared in  1863  ;  and  "  The  Holy  Bible,  with  Notes  and  In- 
troductions," in  Parts,  at  various  dates,  after  1864.  His 
"  Church  of  Ireland "  was  published,  4  Sermons  in  1866, 
and  8  Sermons  in  1869  ;  his  "  Union  with  Rome,"  in  1867, 
and  his  "  Sermons  on  the  Maccabees  and  the  Church,"  in 
1871.  Besides  these,  his  principal  publications,  he  has  is- 
sued, at  various  periods  of  his  active  life,  numerous  Occa- 
sional Sermons  and  Essays,  and  edited  several  literary 
works. 

In  1850,  he  was  preferred  to  the  Vicarage  of  Stamford-in- 
the-Yale,  Berkshire  ;  and,  February  24, 1869,  he  was  conse- 
crated Bishop  of  Lincoln.  Several  of  his  hymns  have  ac- 
quired considerable  popularity,  especially  his  hymn  on 
"  The  Holy  Day  of  Rest,"  beginning  with 

"  O  day  of  rest  and  gladness." 

The  following  stanzas  are  the  first  half  of  a  hynm  in  the 
Supplement  (1863)  to  "  The  Holy  Year": 

**  The  day  is  gently  sinking  to  a  close, 
Fainter  and  yet  more  faint  the  sunlight  glows ; 
O  Brightness  of  thy  Father's  glory,  thou 
Eternal  Light  of  light !  be  with  us  now ; 
Where  thou  art  present  darkness  cannot  be ; 
Midnight  is  glorious  noon,  O  Lord !  with  thee. 


NIKOLAUS  LUDWIG  ZINZENDOEF.  689 

"  Our  changeful  lives  are  ebbing  to  an  end, 
Onward  to  darkness  and  to  death  we  tend : 
O  Conqueror  of  the  grave !  be  thou  our  Guide, 
Be  thou  our  Light  in  death's  dark  eventide ; 
Then  in  our  mortal  hour  will  be  no  gloom, 
No  sting  in  death,  no  terror  in  the  tomb." 


NIKOLAUS  LUDWIG  ZINZENDOEF. 
1700-1760. 

Hymnology  owes  mucli  to  Count  Zinzendorf.  He  was 
the  Founder  and  most  efficient  Patron  of  the  Society  of 
United  Brethren,  commonly  known  as  Moravians.  Pos- 
sessed of  a  remarkable  poetic  gift,  he  became,  in  the  matter 
of  sacred  lyrics,  to  the  "  Brethren,"  what  Isaac  Watts  had 
already  become  to  the  Non-Conformists  of  England,  and 
what  Charles  Wesley  became  to  the  Methodists. 

Zinzendorf  was  of  high-bom  parentage,  the  Count,  his 
father,  having  been  "  Premier-Minister  "  of  the  Elector  of 
Saxony.  He  was  born.  May  26,  1700,  at  Dresden,  Saxony. 
The  learned  and  godly  Philipp  Jakob  Spener,  D.D.,  Court 
Chaplain,  then  in  his  sixty-sixth  year,  and  the  Electoral 
Princesses  of  Saxony  and  the  Palatinate,  were  his  bap- 
tismal sponsors.  His  father  died  six  weeks  after  the 
child's  birth,  and  in  due  time  his  widowed  mother  was 
again  married.  Nikolaus  was  then  entrusted  to  the  care 
of  her  venerable  mother,  the  widow  of  Baron  von  Gersdorf, 
a  lady  of  earnest  piety  and  literary  accomplishments — her- 
self a  writer  of  hymns,  and  a  warm  admirer  of  Spener,  who 
died  in  1705.  Under  her  training,  the  child  became  another 
Samuel,  and,  at  four  years  of  age,  had  manifested  a  remark- 
able knowledge  of  Christian  doctrine  and  love  for  the  Gos- 
pel. From  his  very  childhood,  he  appeared  to  have  known 
both  the  Scriptures,  and  the  God  of  the  Gospel— Jesus 
Christ,  to  whom,  in  his  sixth  year,  he  was  accustomed  to 
44 


690  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHUECH. 

write,  as  a  cliild  to  a  parent.  His  greatest  delight  was  to 
gather  liis  little  play-fellows  about  him,  and  to  preach  and 
pray  ^vith  them.     His  pocket-money  he  gave  to  the  poor. 

lYom  1710  to  1716,  he  was  the  pupil  of  the  renowned  pi- 
etist, August  Hermann  Franke,  at  the  Royal  School  in 
Halle.  Here  he  made  great  progress  both  in  learning  and 
in  piety — occupying  many  of  his  leisure  hours  in  the  com- 
position of  hymns,  for  which  he  had  a  remarkable  gift. 
He  founded  among  his  school-fellows  a  religious  society, 
called  "  The  Order  of  the  Grain  of  Mustard  Seed," — bound 
to  extend  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  especially  among  the 
heathen.  In  1716,  his  uncle  and  guardian.  General  Zinzen- 
dorf,  sent  him  to  the  orthodox  University  of  Wittenberg, 
to  study  law.  His  own  preference  was  divinity,  the  knowl- 
edge of  which  he  found  time  to  cultivate.  Here,  too,  he 
wrote  many  sacred  lyrics,  and  sought  every  means  to  pro- 
mote the  practice  of  piety. 

In  the  spring  of  1719,  having  completed  the  course  of 
study,  he  left  the  University,  and  spent  two  or  three  years, 
with  a  private  tutor,  in  visiting  the  principal  cities  of  Hol- 
land, France,  and  Switzerland.  The  "  Ecce  Homo,"  in  the 
picture  gallery  of  Diisseldorf,  with  its  inscription— "All 
this  have  I  done  for  thee ;  what  doest  thou  for  me  ? " — 
deeply  impressed  him  :  "  From  this  time,"  he  says,  "  I  had 
but  one  passion, — and  that  was  He,  only  He."  At  Ober- 
berg,  he  became  enamored,  during  a  season  of  illness,  with 
his  fair  cousin,  Theodora,  daughter  of  the  Countess  of  Cas- 
tell ;  but  finding  that  his  friend,  Heinrich,  Count  of  Reuss- 
Ebersdorf ,  was  a  suitor  for  her  hand,  he  renounced  his  own 
claims  on  her  heart  and  hand,  and  subsequently  said  to 
Charles  Wesley, — "  From  that  moment  I  was  freed  from 
all  self-seeking." 

Returning  to  Dresden  in  May,  1721,  he  was  appointed 
Judicial  Councillor.  He  edited  a  weekly  paper — The  Oer- 
man  Socrates — in  the  interest  of  religion,  and  conducted 
religious  meetings  in  his  own  house.  In  May,  1722,  he 
bought  a  large  estate,  named  Berthelsdorf,  in  Upper  Lusa- 
tia,  Saxony ;  and,  September  7,  1722,  he  married  the  Coun- 


NIEOLAUS  LUDWIG  ZINZENDORF  691 

tess  Erdmnthe  Dorotliee,  sister  of  Ms  friend,  Count  Reuss, 
—a  lady,  in  whom  lie  found  a  most  congenial  companion. 
He  was,  at  the  time,  "  a  remarkably  handsome  man,  tall, 
and  exactly  of  what  is  termed  aristocratic  bearing  and 
manners  ;  a  ready  speaker,  with  a  clear,  ringing  voice,  and 
graceful  and  imposing  action," 

Meeting  about  this  time  with  Christian  David,  a  ]\Iora- 
vian  refugee,  and  learning  from  him  of  the  persecutions  of 
the  Moravians  by  the  Austrian  Government,  he  offered 
them  an  asylum  at  Berthelsdorf .  In  the  summer  of  1722, 
David  and  a  few  companions  built  a  house  at  the  foot  of 
the  Hutberg,  on  his  estate,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Herrn- 
hut, — "the  protection  of  the  Lord."  The  settlement  grew 
by  almost  constant  arrivals  of  refugees  and  others,  and  Zin- 
zendorf  identiified  himself  with  it  comjDletely ;  so  that,  in 
1732,  he  resigned  his  office  at  Dresden,  and  removed  to 
Berthelsdorf,  to  superintend  the  affairs  of  the  community. 
Such  was  the  rapidity  with  which  the  society  grew,  that, 
as  early  as  1732,  they  began  to  send  forth  missionaries  to 
the  West  Indies  and  Greenland.  The  same  year,  he  was 
ordered  by  the  Government  to  sell  his  estates  and  leave 
Saxony,  on  the  charges  of  heresy  and  disloyalty.  At  Tu- 
bingen, whither  he  had  retired,  he  obtained  ecclesiastical 
orders,  and  became,  December  19,  1734,  an  authorized  min- 
ister of  the  Word.  He  then  visited  Denmark,  Holland, 
Prussia,  and  England.  At  London,  where  he  arrived,  Jan- 
uary 20, 1737,  he  met  Tvith  Charles  Wesley,  Whitefield,  and 
other  brethren  of  like  mind,  over  whom  he  exerted  a  pow- 
erful influence.  At  Berlin,  May  20,  1737,  he  was  ordained 
a  bishop  of  the  United  Bretliren,  having,  in  June,  1736, 
fixed  his  abode  at  Marienborn  (about  thirty-five  miles  from 
Frankfort-on-the-Main),  where  John  Wesley  visited  him  in 
July,  1738. 

In  December,  1738,  he  sailed  for  the  West  Indies,  on  a 
visit  to  the  Moravian  mission  in  St.  Thomas,  and  obtained 
the  liberation  of  the  imprisoned  missionaries;  returning,  in 
the  spring  of  1739,  by  way  of  England,  In  the  latter  part 
of  1741,  he  visited  the  continent  of  America  (again  taking 


692  THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

England  on  liis  way),  and  spent  a  year,  preaching  at  Pliila- 
delpliia,  Germantown,  Betlilehem,  and  among  tlie  Pennsyl- 
vania Indians.  He  returned,  February,  1743,  to  England, 
and,  April,  1743,  to  Germany,  On  the  revocation  of  the 
edict  of  banishment,  October  11,  1747,  he  gladly  went  back 
to  Herrnhut,  and  made  it  his  head-quarters.  He  visited 
England  once  more  in  1749,  and  remained  more  than  a 
year.  Returning  thither  again  in  1751,  he  remained  nearly 
four  years,  residing  at  Chelsea,  London.  His  only  surviv- 
ing son,  Christian  Renatus,  died,  May  28, 1752  ;  and,  after 
his  return  (1755)  to  Germany,  his  wife,  also,  was  taken 
from  him,  June  19,  1756.  In  June,  1757,  he  married  Anna 
Nitschmann,  one  of  the  venerable  "sisters"  of  Herrnhut. 
He  died,  after  four  days  of  illness,  of  a  violent  catarrhal 
fever.  May  9,  1760,  having  almost  completed  his  sixtieth 
year. 

Zinzendorf  is  to  be  classed  among  the  most  devoted  and 
useful  men  of  the  past  century.  His  high  birth,  his  large 
fortune,  his  distinguished  social  position,  his  eminent  tal- 
ents, and  his  great  literary  attainments,  as  well  as  his  am- 
bition, were  all  made  subservient  to  the  one  great  desire 
and  aim  of  his  ardent  soul, — the  advancement  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  on  the  earth.  Herrnhut,  with  all  its  appli- 
ances and  organizations  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  is  the 
fruit  of  his  benevolence  and  godly  zeal.  The  "Mustard 
Seed"  that  he  planted  there  in  1722  has  become  a  great 
tree,  and  has  spread  its  branches  over  the  earth. 

His  literary  activity  kept  pace  with  his  Christian  energy. 
He  wrote  more  than  a  hundred  treatises,  large  and  small, 
historical,  apologetical,  doctrinal,  and  practical,  all  de- 
signed to  promote  his  great  end.  Among  his  prose  works, 
the  principal  are :  "  Conversations  on  Various  Religious 
Truths";  "Jeremiah,  the  Preacher  of  Righteousness"; 
"Reflexions  Naturelles";  "The  Present  State  of  the  King- 
dom of  the  Cross  of  Christ ";  and  "  The  History  of  the  Days 
of  the  Son  of  Man." 

At  a  very  early  age,  he  accustomed  himself  to  poetic  com- 
position, in  which  he  acquired  a  remarkable  facility.     He 


NIKOLAUS  LUDWIG  ZI^ZENDORF.  693 

wrote  about  2,000  hymns,  540  of  which  are  found  in  the 
German  Hymn-Books  of  the  "Brethren,"  and  205  in  the 
"English  Hymn-Book."  In  February,  1724,  he  began  the 
revision  of  the  Bohemian  Hymn-Book ;  and,  in  1725,  he 
published  "  A  Collection  of  Hymns  for  the  Parish  of  Berth- 
elsdorf";  and  "A  Paraphrase,  in  Verse,  of  the  Last  Dis- 
course of  Jesus  before  his  Crucifixion."  Two  years  later 
(1727),  he  issued  "  A  Selection  of  Prayers  and  Hymns,  from 
Angelus  Silesius";  and,  in  1735,  a  Collection  of  German 
Poems.  In  1739,  he  published  a  small  Collection  of  his 
Hymns ;  and,  in  1741,  a  new  Collection  of  Hymns  com- 
posed by  the  "Brethren."  While  a  resident  of  London, he 
printed,  in  1753,  a  Collection  of  2,169  German  Hymns  ;  and, 
the  year  following  (1754),  the  second  part,  containing  1,000 
hymns.     In  company  with  Gambold,  he  published,  also  in 

1754,  "  A  Collection  of  Hymns  of  the  Children  of  God,  in 
aU  Ages,  from  the  Beginning  until  Now,  designed  for  the 
Use  of  the  Congregations  in  Union  with  the  Brethren's 
Church."  This  was  the  great  "English  Hymn-Book,"  a 
large  part  of  which  consists  of  translations  from  the  Ger- 
man, many  of  them  by  Zinzendorf .     This  was  followed,  in 

1755,  by  an  Appendix  of  300  hymns.  A  Collection  of  his 
own  German  hymns  was  published  (1845)  by  Albert  Knapp. 

A  large  portion  of  his  hymns,  both  in  German  and  Eng- 
lish, have  scarcely  any  poetic  merit;  "  some  are  fantastic  and 
irreverent ;  some  mere  rhymed  prose  ;  others  again  have  a 
real  sweetness,  fervor,  and  song  in  them."  Among  them, 
says  Kiibler,  "  notwithstanding  negligences  of  form  and  ex- 
uberance of  feeling,  are  some  of  the  finest,  grandest,  love- 
liest, and  most  touching  effusions  of  sacred  poetry."  The 
following,  in  the  original,  is  a  great  favorite  in  almost 
every  pious  German  household  ;  it  is  entitled,  "  Following 
Christ"; 

"  Jesus !  day  by  day, 

Lead  us  on  life's  way : 
Nought  of  dangers  wiU  we  reckon, 
Simply  haste  where  thou  dost  beckon ; 

Lead  us,  by  the  hand, 

To  our  fatherland. 


694  THE  POEtS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  Hard  should  seem  our  lot, 
Let  us  waver  not ; 
Never  murmur  at  our  crosses, 
In  dark  days  of  grief  and  losses ; 
'T  is  through  trial  here 
We  must  reach  thy  sphere. 

"  When  the  heart  must  know 
Pain  for  others'  woe, 
When  beneath  its  own  't  is  sinking, 
Give  us  patience,  hope  unshrinking ; 
Fix  our  eyes,  O  Friend ' 
On  our  journey's  end. 

"  Thus  our  path  shall  be 

Daily  traced  by  thee; 

Draw  thou  near  when  't  is  rougher. 

Help  us  most  when  most  we  sufPer; 

And,  when  all  is  o'er. 

Ope  to  us  thy  door." 


THEODOEE  ZWINGER. 

1533-1588. 

Prof.  Theodoee  Zwingee,  M.D.,  of  Bale,  Switzerland, 
the  eminent  physician,  scholar,  and  poet,  was  born,  of  poor 
parents,  August  18, 1533,  at  Bale,  where  his  younger  days 
were  spent.  At  a  suitable  age,  he  was  sent  to  Lyons, 
France,  to  learn  the  printer's  trade.  His  father  was  a  fur- 
rier, and  would  have  brought  him  up  to  his  own  business  ; 
but  his  mother,  who  was  a  sister  of  John  Opiron,  a  famous 
printer  of  that  period,  prevailed  to  change  the  design. 
While  at  Lyons,  he  occupied  his  leisure  hours  in  study. 

At  the  end  of  three  years,  he  went  to  Paris,  where  he 
prosecuted,  under  the  tuition  of  the  celebrated  Professor, 
Pierre  Ramus,  the  study  of  Philosophy.  From  Paris  he 
proceeded  to. Padua,  Italy,  where  he  spent  six  years  in  the 


THEODOEE  ZWINGER,  695 

study  of  Medicine.  Keturning  to  Bale,  Ms  native  place, 
he  obtained  the  Chair  of  Greek  in  the  University,  and,  sub- 
sequently, of  Moral  and  Political  Philosophy.  Afterwards, 
he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Medicine,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  was  a  most  skillful  and  popular  practitioner  of  the 
art.  He  died,  of  fever,  after  an  illness  of  only  two  days,  in 
March,  1588.  His  only  son,  Jacques,  was  born  in  1569,  and 
followed,  with  great  success,  his  father's  profession. 

Theodore  Zwinger  was  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of 
the  period.  Moreri  gives  a  list  of  sixteen  of  his  Works, 
medical,  philosophical,  historical,  and  critical.  His  chief 
work,  however,  was  his  "  Theatrum  Vitse  Humanse,"  pub- 
lished in  1565.  It  was  begun  by  Conrad  Lycosthene  [Wolf- 
hart],  the  minister  of  the  Protestant  congregation  at  Bale, 
who  had  married  Zwinger's  widowed  mother.  He  had 
spent  fifteen  years  on  the  work ;  and,  just  before  he  died, 
March  25, 1561,  he  entreated  his  step-son  to  finish  and  pub- 
lish it.  Zwinger  lived  to  see  a  third  edition  of  the  work 
published. 

When  Zwinger  was  on  his  death-bed,  he  is  said  to  have 
composed  the  following  paraphrase  of  the  122d  Psalm : 

"  O  lux  Candida,  lux  mihi 
Laeti  conscia  transitus ! 
Per  Chi'isti  meritvim  patet 

Vitae  porta  beatae. 
Me  status  revocat  dies 
Augustum  Domini  ad  domum : 
Jam  sacra  aetherii  premam 

Laetus  limina  templi. 
Jam  visum  Solymae  edita 
Ccelo  culmina,  et  aedium 
Coetus  angelicos,  suo  et 

Augustum  populo  urbem : 
Urbem  quam  procul  inflmis 
Terras  finibus  exciti 
Petunt  Christiadae,  et  Deum 

Laudant  voce  perenni : 
Jussam  ccelitus  oppidis 
Urbem  jus  dare  caeteris, 
Et  sedem  fore  Davidis 


THE  POETS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Cvmcta  in  saecla  beati. 
Mater  Bobilis  urbiura ! 
Semper  te  bona  pax  amat 
Et  te  semper  amantibus 

Cedunt  omnia  recte. 
Semper  pax  tua  mcenia 
Colit ;  semper  in  atriis 
Tms  copia  dextera 

Larga  munera  fimdit. 
Dulcis  Cbristiadum  domus 
Give  adscribe  novitium : 
Sola  comitata  Caritas — 

Spesque  Fidesque  valete." 

This  beautiful  and  sublime  farewell  to  earth  loses  little  in 
the  admirable  and  spirited  translation  of  the  Eev.  James 
Merrick  {q.  v.),  here  given  in  full : 

"  Wbat  joy,  while  thus  1  view  the  day 
That  warns  my  thirsting  soul  away, — 

What  transports  fill  my  breast ! 
For,  lo !  my  great  Redeemer's  power 
Unfolds  the  everlasting  door, 
And  leads  me  to  his  rest. 

"  The  festive  morn,  my  God!  is  come. 
That  calls  me  to  the  hallowed  dome 

Thy  presence  to  adore ; 
My  feet  the  summons  shall  attend, 
With  willing  steps  thy  courts  ascend 

And  tread  th'  ethereal  floor. 

"  E'en  now,  to  my  expecting  eyes, 
The  heaven-built  towers  of  Salem  rise: 

E'en  now,  with  glad  survey, 
I  view  her  mansions  that  contain 
Th'  angelic  forms — an  awful  train, 
And  shine  with  cloudless  day. 

*'  Hither,  from  earth's  remotest  end, 
Lo !  the  redeemed  of  God  ascend, 

Their  tribute  hither  bring : 
Here  crowned  with  everlasting  joy. 
In  hymns  of  praise  their  tongues  employ. 

And  hail  th'  immortal  King; — 


THEODOEE  ZWINGER.  697 

"  Great  Salem's  King;  who  bids  each  state 
On  her  decrees  dependent  wait ; 

In  her,  ere  time  begun, 
High  on  eternal  base  upreared 
His  hands  the  regal  seat  prepared 
For  Jesse's  favored  Son. 

"  Mother  of  cities !  o'er  thy  head 
See  Peace,  with  healing  wings  outspread, 

Delighted  fix  her  stay ; 
How  blessed,  who  calls  himself  thy  friend ! 
Success  his  labors  shall  attend, 
And  safety  guard  his  way. 

"  Thy  walls,  remote  from  hostile  fear, 
Nor  the  loud  voice  of  tumult  hear. 

Nor  war's  wild  wastes  deplore ; 
There  smiliag  Plenty  takes  her  stand, 
And  in  thy  courts,  with  lavish  hand, 

Has  poured  forth  all  her  store. 

**  Let  me,  blessed  Seat!  my  name  behold. 
Among  thy  citizens,  enrolled. 

In  thee  for  ever  dwell ! 
Let  Charity  my  steps  attend, 
My  sole  companion  and  my  friend, 

And  Faith  and  Hope  farewell ! " 


INDEX 


OF 


The  principal  Hymns  of  the  Authors  noticed  in  this  Work,  as  found 
in  the  Collections  now  in  common  use. 


A  broken  heart,  my  God.  my  King . . ./.  Watts 

A  broken  heart,  O  Lord  ! T.  Ruffles 

A  charge  to  keep  I  have C.  Wesley 

A  debtor  to  mercy  alone A.  M.  Toplady 

A  few  more  years  shall  roll //.  Bonar 

A  glory  gilds  the  sacred  page. W.  Cowfier 

A  hymn  for  martyrs  sweetly  sing 

Venerable  Bede,  ir.,  J.  M.  Neale 

A  light  streams  downward Miss  Hinsdale 

A  little  child,  the  Saviour  came. .  W.  Robertson 

A  living  stream,  as  crystal  clear F.  Mason 

A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God,  a  bulwark 

M.  Lutker,  Tr.,  F.  H.  Hedge 
A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God,  a  trusty 

M.  Luther,  Tr.,  T.  Carlyle 
A  mind  at  perfect  peace  with  God.  . .//.  Bonar 

A  mother  may  forgetful  be Miss  A  .  Steele 

A  pilgrim  and  a. Tr.,  Miss  J.  Borthwick 

A  pilgrim  through  this  lonely  world  //.  Bonar 
A  present  God  is  all  our  strength./".  Doddridge 

A  thousand  oracles  divine C.  Wesley 

Abba,  Father  !  hear  thy  child C.  Wesley 

Abba,  Father,  while  we  sing F.  Osier 

Abide  in  me  and  I  in  you E.H.  Bickersteth 

Abide  with  me  ;  fast  falls H.  F.  Lyte 

Above  the  starry  spheres 

Ambrose^  Tr.,  E.  Casivall 
Absent  from  flesh  !  O  blissful  thought./.  Watts 
According  to  thy  gracious  ...  .J.  Montgomery 
Again  our  earthly  cares  we  leave    ..y,  .Wwton 

Again  our  weekly  labors  end J.  Stennett 

Again  returns  the  day  ot  holy  rest. .  W.  Mason 

Again  the  holy  morn Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

Again  the  Lord  of  life. . .  Mrs.  A  .  L.  Barbauld 
Again  the  Lord's  own  day  .Tr. ,  jf.  M.  Neale  (a) 

Again  we  lift  our  voice C.  Wesley 

Ah,  Head  !  so  bruised  and  wounded. C.  Wesley 

Ah  !  how  shall  fallen  man . . . .  _ /.  Watts 

Ah  !  Jesus,  let  me  hear  thy  voice A.  Reed 

Ah  !  not  like  erring  man  is    H.  U.  Onderdonk 

Ah  !  what  avails  my  strife C.  Wesley 

Ah  !  what  can  I,  a  sinner,  ^Q.Mrs.A.  B.  Hyde 

Ah  !  whither  should  I  go C  Wesley 

Ah  !  wretched,  vile,  ungrateful  .Miss  A.  Steele 

Alas  !  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed /.  Watts 

Alas  !  in  wandering  from  the  Lord. . . ./.  Watts 
Alas  !  what  hourly  dangers  x\%&.Miss  A.  Steele 

Alike  in  happiness  or  woe B.  Beddome  (a) 

All  glorious  God,  what  hymns. .  .P.  Doddridge 
All  glory,  laud  and  honor. . .  .Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 
All  Glory,  worship  thanks,  and. .  .P.  Gerhardt 
All  hail.  Adored  Trinity .  .Tr.,  /.  D.  Chambers 

All  hail,  mcarnate  God  ! Miss  E.  Scott 

All  hail  the  gloiious  morn     J.  Peacock 

All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name.£.  Perronet 

*  See  Introductory  Note. 


All  His  servants,  join  to  sing .J.  Conder 

All  is  dying,  hearts  are  breaking 

C.  Spitta,  Ti.,R.  Massie 
All  my  heart  this  night  rejoices 

P.  Gerhardt,  Tr.,  M/ss  C.  Winkworih 
All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell  .  W.  Kethe 
All  praise  to  him  of  Nazareth. .  .  W.  C.  Bryant 
All  praise  to  thee,  eternal  Lord  . . .  .M.  Luther 
All  praise  to  thee,  my  God,  this  night. .  T.  Ken 
All  scenes  alike  engaging  prove.../1/w*.  Giiyon 
All  that  I  was,  my  sin,  my  guilt    ...    H.  Bonar 

All  things  are  ready,  come A.  Midlane 

All  ye  Gentiles,  praise  the J.  Montgomery 

All  ye  who  owe  to  God  your.  .  .Tr.,  J .  Wesley 
All  ye  who  seek  for  sure  relief. Tr.,  A.  Cas^uall 
All  ye  who  seek  in  hope  and  love.  .E.  Caswall 
Alleluia  !  Alleluia  1  Alleluia  !.Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 
Alleluia  !  Alleluia  !  hearts  to.  ..C".  Word<s%uorth 
Alleluia  !  best  and  sweetest..  .Tr.,  J.  Chandler 
Alleluia  !  song  of  sweetness.   .Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 

Almighty  Father,  bless  the y.  Montgomery 

Almighty  Father  of  mankind AL  Bruce 

Almighty  God,  I  call  to  Thee M.  Luther 

Almighty  God  of  love C.Wesley 

Almighty  God  !  the  pure  and  just.  ...E.  Osier 
Almighty  God  !  Thy  throne  above. 7-  Chandler 
Almighty  God  !  Thy  word  is  cast  .  .y.  Cawood 

Almighty  God,  to-night y.  M.  Neale 

Almighty  Lord,  before  Thy  throne 

Miss  A .  Steele 

Almighty  Maker,  God  ! /.  Watts 

Almighty  Maker  of  my  frame. .  .Miss  A.  Steele 

Almighty  Sovereign  of  the  skies A'.  Strong 

Almighty  Spirit,  now  behold  ..y.  Montgomery 
Alone  with  Thee,  with  Thee  alone..  7".  H.  Gih 

Along  my  earthly  way y.  Edmeston 

Although  the  vine  its  fruit..//.  U.  Onderdonk 
Always  with  us— always  with  us..£.  H.  Nevin 

Am  I  a  soldier  of  the  cross     /.  Watts 

Amazing  grace,  how  sweet  the..  . .  y.  Neivton 
Amid  the  splendors  of  Thy  state  . . .  .y.  Rippon 
Amplest  grace  in  Thee  I  lind..^.  M.  Toplady 

An  exile  for  the  faith Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

And  are  there  countries Miss  y.  Taylor 

And  are  we  now  brought  near..  .P.  Doddridge 

And  are  we  wretches  yet  alive /.  Watts 

And  are  we  yet  alive C.  Wesley 

And  be  it  so— that  till  this  hour T.  Gibbons 

And  can  I  yet  delay C.  Wesley 

And  can  mine  eyes O.  Heginbothom 

And  can  my  heart  aspire  so Miss  A.  Steele 

And  canst  thou,  sinner  ! Mrs.  A.  B.  Hyde 

And  did  the  Holy  and  the  Just./V/m  A.  Steele 
And  dost  Thou  come,  O  blessed.  . .  .y.  Mason 
And  dost  Thou  say, — "  Ask  what". .7.  Newton 
And  have  we  heard  the  joyful  sound.. £.  Osier 
And  is  the  time Miss  J.  Borthwick 


700 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


And  is  there,  Lord  !  a  rest R.  Palmer 

And  let  this  feeble  body  fail C.  IVesley 

And  must  I  part  with  all  I  have..  .B.  Beddome 

And  must  this  body  die         /.  Watts 

And  now  another  week  begins T.  Kelly 

And  now,  my  soul,  another  year S.  Bro-wn 

And  now  the  solemn  deed  is  done,. 5".  F.  Smith 

And  shall  I  sit  alone B.  Beddome 

And  will  the  great,  eternal  God../'.  Doddridge 

And  will  the  Judge  descend P.  Doddridge 

And  will  the  Lord  thus Miss  A .  Steele 

And  will  the  offended  Liod  again. ..5.  Stennett 

And  wilt  Thou  hear,  O  Lord Tx.,Neale 

Angel  !  roll  the  rock  away  ...  . . . .  T.  Scott 

Angels  !  from  the  realms  of. . .  .y.  Montgomery 

Angels  !  lament,  behold  your.Tr.,  jf.  Ckatidler 
Angels  rejoiced  and  sweetly  sung  ..  W.  Hum 
Another  day  has  passed  along. . .  .y.  Edmeston 

Another  six  days'  work  is  done y.  Stennett 

Apostles  of  the  risen  Christ,  go  iorih.  H.  Bonar 
Approach,  my  soul !  the  mercy-seat . y.  Neivton 

Archangels  !  fold  your  wings. M,  Bridges 

Arise,  arise  !  with  joy  survey T,  Kelly 

Arise,  great  God,  and  let  Thy y.  Merrick 

Arise,  my  soul  !  arise.         C.  Wesley 

Arise  my  soul,  fly  up  and  run /.  Watts 

Arise,  my  soul !  my  joyful  powers /.  Watts 

Arise,  my  soul,  on  wings  sublime. . .  T.  Gibbons 
Arise,  my  soul,  with  rapture  rise.  .5'.  F.  Smith 
Arise,  my  tenderest  thoughts  !. .  .P.  Doddridge 
Arise,  O  God  !  and  let  Thy  grace . .  y.  Merrick 

Arise,  O  King  of  grace  !  arise. /.  Watts 

Arise,  ye  saints  !  arise T.  Kelly 

Arm  of  the  Lord  !  awake,  awake.  W.  Shriibsole 

Arm  these  thy  soldiers C.  Wordsworth 

Around  the  Saviour's  lofty  throne. ...  7".  Kelly 
Around  the  throne  a  circling  band.?'-  M.  Neale 

Around  thy  grave.  Lord  Jesus y.  G.Deck 

Art  thou  a  child  of  tears. T.  Keble 

Art  thou  weary  ?     Art  thou  languid  ? 

Stephen  the  Sabaile,  Tr.  y.  M.  Neale 
As  by  the  light  of  opening  day  ..  .y.  .\'ewton 
As  every  day  Thy  mercy  spares. .  W.  Shrubsole 
As  flows  the  rapid  river  .      ..S.F.  Smith 

As  Jesus  died  and  rose  again M.  Bruce 

As  now  the  sun's  declining.  .  .Tr.,  y.  Chandler 
As  oft  with  worn  and  weary  feet.  .y.  Edmestoti 

As  pants  the  hart  for  cooling H.  F.  Lyte 

As  shadows  cast  by  cloud  and  sun.  W.C.Bryant 
As  the  hart  with  eager  looks.  ..y.  Montgomery 
As  the  sweet  flower  that.  .y.  W.  Cunningham 
As  when  in  silence  vernal  showers..^  ./f//>/^« 
As  when  the  weary  traveler  gains,  .y.  Neivton 
As  with  gladness  men  of  old....         W.  C.  Dix 

Ascend  thy  throne.  Almighty B.  Beddome 

Ashamed  of  Jesus  !  can  it  be y.  Grigg 

Ask  ye  what  great  thing  I  know  y.  S.  B.  Monsell 
Asleep  in  Jesus  !  blessed. .  .  .Mrs.  M.  Mackay 

Assembled  at  thy  great W.  B.  Colly er 

Astonished  and  distressed B.  Beddome 

At  anchor  laid,  remote  from...^.  M.  Toplady 

At  the  cross  her  station Tr.,  .£.  Casmall 

At  the  Lamb's  high  feast Tr.,  R.  Campbell 

At  thy  command,  our  dearest  Lord. ../.  Waits 

Auspicious  morning  !  hail S.  F.  Smith 

Author  of  faith,  eternal  Word C.  Wesley 

Author  of  faith,  to  Thee  I  cry.  ..C.  Wesley 
Author  of  good,  to  Thee  we  turn. .5^.  Mirrick 

Awake,  again  the  Gospel  trump y.  Keble 

Awake,  all-conquering  arm P.  Doddridge 

Awake,  and  sing  the  song W.  Hammond 

Awake,  awake,  O  Zion     B.  Gough 

Awake,  awake  the  sacred  song.  .  Miss  A .  Steele 

Awake,  glad  soul !  awake y.S.B.  Monsell 

Awake,  my  heart  !  arise,  my  tongue. ./.  Watts 

Awake,  my  soul  !  and  sing M.  Bridges 

Awake,  my  soul  !  and  with  tho  sun . . .  .T.  Ken 
Awake,  my  soul  1  in  joyful  lays  . . .  .S.  Medley 
Awake,  my  soul !  lift. . .  .Mrs.  A.  2..  Barbauld 


Awake,  my  Soul !  stretch  eveiy..P.  Doddridge 
Awake,  my  soul  !  to  joyful  lays  . .  ..S".  Medley 
Awake,  my  soul  !  to  meet  ihsday .P.Doddridge 

Awake,  my  soul !  to  sound  His y.  Barlow 

Awake,  my  tongue  !  thy  tribute,  .y.  Needham 
Awake,  our  droAsy  souls. ......  Miss  E.  Scott 

Awake,  our  souls  !  away  our  fears.   . . ./.  Watts 

Awake,  ye  saints  !  and  raise P.  Doddridge 

Awake,  ye  saints  !  awake T.  Cotterill 

Awake,  ye  saints!  to  praiseyour  King./.  Watts 

Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound 5'.  Occotn 

Away  from  earth  my  spirit  turns..  .R.  Palmer 
Away  from  every  mortal  care. ...        /.  Watts 

Away,  my  unbelieviuij  fear C.  Wesley 

Awed  by  a  mortal's  frown   E.  Osier 

Be  joyful  in  God,  all  ye  lands,  .y.  Montgomery 

Be  present  at  our  table.  Lord y.  Cennick 

Be  present,  Holy  Trinity..    .  .Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 

Be  still,  my  heart y.  Neivton 

Be  Thou  e.xalted,  O  my  God /.  Waits 

Be  thou  faithful  unto  death  ....  B.  Gough 
Be  Thou,  O  God,  exalted. . . .  Tate  and  Brady 

Be  tranquil,  O  my  .soul T.  Hastings 

Be  with  me,  Lord,  where'er  I  go..  .5*^.  Cennick 

Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne /.  Watts 

Before  the  ending  of  the  day 

A  mbrose.,  Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 

Before  the  heavens  were  spread /.  Watts 

Before  the  Lord  we  bow F.  S.  Key 

Before  thy  mercy-'^eat W.  H.  Bathursi 

Begin,  my  soul  !  th'  exalted  lay y.  Ogilvie 

Begin,  my  tongue  !  some  heav'nly  ..../.  Watts 

Begone,  unbelief,  my  Saviour y.  Newton 

Behold  !  a  stranger's  at  the  door.    . .   y.  Grigg 

Behold  th'  amazing  sight P.  Doddridge 

Behold  !  the  blind  their  sight  receive  /.  Watts 
Behold  !  the  Christian  warrior    y.  Montgomery 

Behold  !  the  day  is  come B.  Beddome 

Behold  the  glories  of  the  Lamb /.  Watts 

Behold  !  the  grace  appears /.  Waits 

Behold  !  the  Lamb  of  God M.  B>  idges 

Behold  !  the  lofty  sky /.  Watts 

Behold  the  man  !  how  glorious T.  Kelly 

Behold!  the  messengers 5'.  Victorinus 

Behold  !  the  morning  sun /.  Watts 

Behold  !  the  mountain  of  the  Lord.  .M.  Bruce 
Behold  !  the  Saviour  of  mankind  ..S,  Wesley 
Behold  I  the  shade  of  night  is  now  receding 

Gregory.,  Tr.,  R.  Palmer 
Behold  !  the  sin-atoning  Lamb  .  .y.  Fawceti 
Behold  !  the  sure  foundation  stone. .  . ./.  Waits 

Behold  !  the  throne  of  grace   y,  Neivton 

Beliold  !  the  western  evening.?^.  B.  O.  Peabody 
Behold  !  Thy  waiting  servant,  Lord. ./.  Watts 

Behold!  we  come,  dear  Lord y.  Austin 

Behold  !  what  condescending  love.. y.  Peacock 

Behold!  what  pity  touched /.  Watts 

Behold  !  what  wondrous  grace /.  Watts 

Behold  where,  in  a  mortal  form.. ..IK.  Enjield 

Behold  !  where  in  the  Friend W.  Enfield 

Beneath  Moriah's  rocky  side.Tv.  j1/.  McCheyne 
Beneath  our  feet  and  o'er  our  head. .  .R.  Heber 
Beset  with  snares  on  every  hand  /".  Doddridge 
Bethlehem,  earth's  noblest.  ..Tr.,  E.  Caswall 
Beyond,  beyond  that  boundless  .y.  Conder 
Beyond  the  smiling  and  the  weeping.//'.  Bonar 

Beyond  the  starry  skies. ...    D.  Turner 

Beyond  where  Kidron's  waters..  ..S.F.  Smith 
Birds  have  their  quiet  nests.,  .y.  S.  B.  Monsell 

Bless  God,  my  soul Tate  and  Brady 

Bless,  O  Lord,  the  opening  year.  .  .  .y.  Newton 

Bless,  O  my  soul  !  the   living  God /.  Watts 

Blessed  angels,  while  we  silent  lie. .  T.  Ken  (a) 

Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die B.  Gough 

Blessed  are  the  feet  which  bring y.  Mason 

Blessed  are  the  humble  souls  ..../.  Waits 
Blessed  are  the  men  whose  mercies.../.  Watts 

Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart y.  Keble 

Blessed  are  the  sons  of  God y.  Humphrey* 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


701 


Blessed  are  the  sons  of  peace /.  Waits 

Blessed  are  the  souls  that  hear /.  Waits 

Blessed  are  the  undefiled  in  heart /.  Watts 

Blessed  be  the  dear  uniting  love C.  Wesley 

Blessed  be  the  everlasting  God /.  Watts 

Blessed  be  the  Father  and  his  love /.  Watts 

Blessed  be  the  tie  that  binds  ...  J.  Faivceit 
Blessed  be  Thou,  the  God. .  .H.  U.  Onderdonk 

Blessed  be  Thy  love,  dear  Lord J.  Atistin 

Blessed  be  Thy  name J.  Montgomery 

Blessed  City,  Heavenly Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 

Blessed  Comforter,  come  down.^.  M.  Toplady 
Blessed  Comibrter..         Mrs.  L.  //.  Sigourney 

Blessed  Creator  of  the  light C.  Coffin 

Blessed  day  of  God  !  most  calm J.  Mason 

Blessed  feasts  of  blessed.  .Tr.,  J.  D.  Chambers 

Blessed  feast  of  love  divine Sir  E.  Denny 

Blessed  Fountain,  full  of  grace T.  Kelly 

Blessed  hour  !  when  mortal  man. ..  .T.  Raffles 

Blessed  inhabitants  of  Zion J.Newton 

Blessed  is  the  man  who  shuns  the  .. .  /.  Watts 
Blessed  is  the  man,  whose  heart  doth./.  Watts 

Blessed  is  the  man Mrs.  A.  L.  Barbauld 

Blessed  is  the  man  whose  spirit H.  F.  Lyte 

Blessed  is  the  tie  that  binds  .         ..J.  Faivceit 

Blessed  Jesus 1  r..  Miss  C.  Winkworth 

Blessed  Jesus  !  when  my O.  Heginboikom 

Blessed  morning,  whose  young /.  Watts 

Blessed  Salem,  long  expected.  .Tr.,  W.  Mercer 

Blessed  Saviour  !  Thee  1  love   G.  Dicffield 

Blessed  Trinity  !  from  mortal. Tr.,  H.  W.  Baker 
Blessing  and  honor  and  glory  and....//'.  Bonar 

Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow C.  Wesley 

Body  of  Jesus,  O  sweet  food A.  C.  Coxe 

Bound  upon  the  accursed  tree    H.  H.  Milnian 

Boundless  glor^ ,  Lord  !  be  Thine T.  Kelly 

Bowed  with  a  sense  of  sin  I  ...A.M.  Toplady 
Bread  of  heaven  !  on  thee  I  feed  J.  Conder 
Bread  of  the  world  in  mercy  broken,  .i?.  Heber 

Brethren  called  by  one Tt.,  W.  Mercer 

Brethren,  let  us  join  to  bless ./.  Cennick 

Brethren  while  we  sojourn  here   J.  Swain 

Bride  of  the  Lamb,  awake Sir  E.  Denny 

Brief  life  is  here  our  portion..  .T.,  J.  M.  Neale 
Bright  and  joyful  is  the  morn..  J.  Montgomery 
Bright  as  the  sun's  meridian  .  W.  Shrubsole 

Bright  King  of  glory,  dreadful  God  !. ./.  Watts 

Bright  Source  of  everlasting  love J-  Baden 

Bright  with  all  His  crowns. .  . .  Sir  E.  Denny 
Brightest  and  best  of  the  sons  of  the.  .J?.  Heber 
Brightness  of  the  Father's  glory. . .  R.  Robinson 
Broad  is  the  road  that  leads  to  death  ./.  Watts 
Brother,  thou  art  gone  to  rest.  ..H.H.  Milman 

Brother,  though  from Mrs.  C.  L.  Bancroft 

Brought  to  the  font  with  holy  care  .  .  E.  Osier 
Buried  in  shadows  of  the  night  ...  -  I.  Watts 
Burst,  ye  emerald  gates  !  .         ..R.  Kempen/elt 

By  cool  Siloam's  shady  rill  .    R.  Heber 

By  faith  in  Christ  I  walk  with  God..?.  Neiwton 
By  precepts  taught  of  ages  past 

Avibrose,i:r.,y.M.  Neale 

By  the  cross  of  Jesus H.  Bonar 

By  thy  birth  and  early  years  ......   R.  Grant 

Call  Jehovah  thy  salvation.      .   J.  Montgomery 

Calm  1.  e,  my  God  !  and  keep  me H.  Bottar 

Calm  on  the  bosom  of  thy  ..Mrs.  F.  D.  Hemans 
Calm  on  the  listening  ear  of  night.  .£.  H.  Sears 
Calmer  of  the  troubled  heart    .  C.Wesley 

Can  aught  beneath  a  power..  .  Miss  A.  Steele 
Can  sinners  hope  for  heaven. . .  B.  Beddome 
Captains  of  the  saintly  band.Tr.,/^.  W.  Baker 

Cast  thy  burden  on  the  Lord R.  Hill 

Cease,  ye  mourners,  cease  to.   . .    W.  B.  Collyer 

Change  is  our  portion  here J.  H.  Evans 

Cheer  up,  desponding  soul J-  Byrom 

Child  of  sin  and  sorrow T.  Hastings 

Children  !  hear  the  melting  story  T.  Hastings 
Children  of  light !  ari.se  and  shine.i'?>  E.  Denny 
ChUdren  of  men,  rejoice.. Tr.,^.  D.  Chambers 


Children  of  the  heavenly  King J.  Cennick 

Chosen  not  for  good  in  me.  .  .R.  M.  McCheyne 
Christ  and  his  cross  is  all  our  theme.../.  Waits 
Christ,  by  heavenly  hosts  adored.//.  Harbaug/i 

Christ  for  every  man  hath  died E.  Osier 

Christ  had  regained  the  sky Ambrose 

Christ  in  highest  he2c^er\.Saniolius  Victoriniis 
Christ  is  born,  tell  forth  His  . .  Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 
Christ  is  gone  up  with  joyful  sound  ..R.  Heber 
Christ  is  gone  up,  yet  ere  He. ...  .5^.  M.  Neale 
Christ  is  made  the  sure  foundation 

SarujH  Brev..,  Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 
Christ  is  our  Corner-Stone  ..  .Tr.,  J'-  Chandler 
Christ  is  risen  !  Christ  is  risen  \..A.S.  Gurney 

Christ  is  risen  !  the  Lord  is H.H.  Milman 

Christ  lay  awhile  in  death's  strong  hand 

M.  Luther,  Tr.,/?.  Massie 
Christ  leads  me  through  no  darker.  .R  Baxter 
Christ  of  all  my  hopes  the  ground./?.  Wardlaiu 

Christ  of  the  Holy  Angels M.  Rabanus 

Christ !  Redeemer  of  our  race.  .Tr.,  W.  Mercer 

Christ!  the  Father's  mirrored M.  Rabanus 

Christ  the  Lord  is..  ..Tr.,7l//M  C.  Winkrvorth 

Christ,  the  Lord,  is  risen  to-day C.  Wesley 

Christ,  whose  glory  fills  the  skies.  ...C.  Wesley 
Christ  will  gather  in  His  own 

N.  L.  Zinzendorf  Tr,  Miss  C.  Winkworik 
Christians,  awake,  salute  the  happy.. y.  Byrom 
Christian,  dost  thou  see  them  ? 

A  ndre-w  of  Crete,  Tr  ,  J.  M.  Neale 
Christian  !  seek  not  yet  repose. . . .  W.  W,  Hov) 
Christians  awake  !  salute  the   .  ..J.  Byrom 

Christians,  brethren,  ere  we  part.  H.  K.  White 
Christ's  everlasting..         Santolius  Victorinus 

Church  of  the  ever-living  God H.  Bonar 

Circled  by  His  enemies Tr.,  7.  >/.  Neale 

Cling  to  the  Mighty  One H.  Bennett 

Come,  all  harmonious  tongues   /.  Watts 

Come,  all  ye  chosen  saints  of  God J.  Hart 

Come,  all  ye  saints  of  God y.  Boden 

Come  at  the  morning  hour y.  Montgomery 

Come,  behold  a  great  expedient T.  Kelly 

Come,  blessed  Spirit,  source  of. .  .  .B.  Beddotne 

Come,  dearest  Lord,  and  bless y.  Dobell 

Come,  dearest  Lord  !  descend  and /.  Watts 

Come,  divine  Emanuel,  come  . . . .  C.  Wesley 
Come,  ever-blessed  Spirit !.   ...C.  Wordsworth 

Come,  every  pious  heart  !   S.  Stenneti 

Come,  gracious  Lord,  descend  and  ..  ./.  Watts 
Come,  gracious  Spirit,  heavenly. . .  .5'.  Browne 
Come,  guilty  souls,  and  fly  ....y.  Humphreys 
Come,  happy  souls  !  approach  your.  ./.  Watts 
Come,  heavenly  Love  !  inspire.  .Miss  A  .  Steele 

Come  hither,  all  ye  weary  souls /.  Watts 

Come  hither,  ye  faithful  ..Tr.,  E.  Caswall 
Come,  Holy  Ghost,  all  quickening. .  .C.  Wesley 

Come,  Holy  Ghost,  and Tr  ,  E.  Caswall 

Come,  Holy  Ghost,  Creator  !  come N.  Tate 

Come,  Holy  Ghost,  Eternal  God./'.  Doddridge 

Come,  Holy  Ghost,  Eternal  God  N.  Tate 

Come,  Holy  Ghost,  in  love  .../?.  Palmer 
Come,  Holy  Ghost,  Lord  God 

M.Luther.  Tr.,  R.  Massie 

Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our  hearts C.  Wesley 

Come,  Holy  Ghost, our  souls  inspire. Gr^^^ry  /. 
Come,  Holy  Ghost,  who  ever  one 

A>nbrose,  Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  come,  Let /.  Hart 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  come.  With. .  .B.  Beddome 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly 6".  Browne 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  dove /.  Watts 

Come,  humble  sinner,  in  whose E.  yones 

Come  in,  thou  blessed  of  the  Lord T.  Kelly 

Come  in,  thou  blessed .J.  Montgomery 

Come,  Jesus,  Redeemer  !  abide R.  Palmer 

Come  join,  ye  saints,  with  heart 5.  Medley 

Come,  let  our  souls  adore         . .  .Miss  A .  Steele 

Come,  let  our  voices  join  to  raise /.  Watts 

Come,  let  us  all  unite  to  praise M.  Madan 


702 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


Come,  let  iis  anew,  etc.,  Roll C.   Wesley 

Come,  let  us  anew,  etc..  With. C.  IVesley 

Come,  let  us  join  in  songsof  praise. ..  .^.  Firie 
Come,  let  us  join  our  cheerful  songs../.  W^aiis 
Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above. .  C.  IVes/ey 

Come,  let  us  join  our  songs   A.  Pirie 

Come,  let  us  lift  our  joyful  eyes     . .  . ./.  Watts 

Come,  let  us  lift  our  voices  high /.  Wat.s 

Come,  let  us  praise  the  name  ot  God  .  C.  Coffin 

Come,  let  us  search  ourhearts E.  Osier 

Come,  let  us  sing  of  Jesiis  ..  G.  W.  Bet/tun: 
Come,  let  us  sin^  the   song   ..   J.Montgomery 

Come,  let  us  to  the  Lord J.  Morrison 

Come,  Lord,  and  tarry  not H.  Bonar 

Come,  Lord,  and  warm  each. . .  .Miss  A.  Steele 
Come,  magnify  the  Saviour's  love  E.  Osier 
Come,  my  fond  fluttering  heATt.Miss  J.  Taylor 

Come,  my  Redeemer,  come A.  Keed 

Come,  my  soul,  thy  suit  prepare J.  Newton 

Come,  O  Creator  Spirit ir.,  E.  Caswail 

Come,  O  my  soul,  in  sacred  lays..  7".  Blacklock 

Come,  O  thou  traveler. . . ., C.  Wesley 

Come  on,  my  partners  in  distress.. ..  C.  Wesley 

Come,  poor  sinners,  come W.  F.  Lloyd 

Come,  pure  hearts,  in  sweetest  measure 

Adam  of  St.  Victor,  T'c.^R.  Camtbell 
Come,  sacred  Spirit,  from  above./*.  Doddridge 

Come,  saints,  and  adore Miss  M.  De  Fleury 

Come.  Saviour.  Jesus  from Tr.,  J.  Wesley 

Come,  says  Jehus'  sacred. ..T/rj.  A  .  L.  Barbauld 

Come,  see  the  place  where  Jesus T.  Kelly 

Come,  shout  al  >ud  the ......   O.  Heginbothom 

Come,  sound  His  praise  abroa-i /.  Watts  ! 

Come,  Spiiit,  source  of  light B.  Beddo7ne 

Come,  take  His  offers  now C.  Wesley 

Come,  tho'.i  Almighty  King C.   Wesley] 

Come,  thou  briglu  and C.  K.  von  Rosenrotk  \ 

Come,  thou  desire  of  ?,11 Miss  A.  Steele 

Come,  thou  everlasting  Spirit C.  Wesley 

Come,  thou  Fount  of  every R.  Robinson 

Come,  thou  Holy  Spirit,  come..Tr.,  E.  Caswall 
Come,  thou  long-expected  Jesus....  C  Wesley  I 
Come,  thou  soul-transforming  Spirit.. y.  E7in.ns  \ 
Come,  thou  who  dost  the  soul.  Tr. ,  E.  Caswail 

Come  to  ijalvary's  holy J.  Montgomery 

Come,  trembling  sinner E.  Jones 

Come  unto  me,  ye  weary W,  C.  Dix 

Come  up  hither,  come  away E.  H.  Nevin 

Come,  we  that  love  the  Lord ./.  Watts 

Come,  weary  souls,  with  sin ....  Miss  A .  Steele 

Come,  ye  disconsolate T  Moore 

Come,  ye  faithful,  raise  the J.  Hupton 

Come,  ye  lofiy,  come,  ye  lowly.. /I.  T.  Gurney 

Come,  ye  saints,  and  raise    .      J.  Hupton 

Come,  ye  saints,  look  here  and T.Kelly 

Come,  ye  sinners,  poor  and  wretched.  .J.  Hart 

Come,  ye  souls,  by  sin  afflicted J.  Swain 

Come,  ye  that  know  and   fear G.  Burder 

Come,  ye  that  Idve  the  Lord   I.  Walls 

Come,  ye  that  love  the  Saviour's.ArzV.s  A .  Steele 

Come,  ye  weary,  heavy-laden J.  Hart 

Come,  ye  weary  sinners,  come     C.  Wesley 

Command  thy  blessing J.  Montgomery 

Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs Tr.,  J.  Wesley 

Compared  with  Christ   ....    ..   .A.  M.Toplady 

Conquering  kings  their  titles.  .'Xx..,y.  Chandler 

Creator  of  mankind Tr.,  J.   Chandler  (a) 

Creatorof  the  rolling  flood R.  Heber 

Creator  of  the  stars  of  night Ambrose 

Creator  of  the  world,  to  thee.  C.  Coffin  \ 

Creator  Spirit,  by  whose  aid. .  .Tr.,  J.  D^yden  \ 

Crown  him  with  many  crowns M.  Bridges  j 

Crown  hi?  head  with  endless W.  Goode  j 

Crowns  of  glory,  ever  brig  it T.  Kelly  \ 

Dark  was  the  night  and  cold J.  Haiveis 

Daughter  of  Zlon.  from . .   J.  Montgomery 

Daw  n  purples  all  the  east  with  light  | 

.4  mbrose,  Tr.,  J".  M.  Neale  ] 

Day  by  day  the  manna  fell ?.  Conder  | 


Day  divine,  when  sudden T.  H.  Gill 

Day  of  anger,  that  dread ....  Thomas  o/Celano 
Day  of  judgment,  day  of  wonders..  J.  Newton 
Day  of  wrath,  O  day  of....  Thomas  o/  Celano 
Day  of  wrath,  that  awful. . .  Thomas  of  Celano 

Days  and  months  quickly E.  Caswail 

Dayspring  of  Eternity 

C  K.  van  Rosenrotk,  Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkwortk 

Dear  Father,  to  thy  mercy Miss  A .  Steele 

Dear  is  the  hallowed.  .J.  W.  Cunni7igharH 

Dear  Jesus,  ever  at  my  side F.   W.  Faber 

Dear  Lord,  amid  the  throng Sir  E.  Denny 

Dear  Lord  and  Master   mine T.  H.  Gill 

Dear  refuge  of  my  weary  soul.  .Miss  A.  Steele 

Dear  Saviour,  I  am  thine F.  Doddridge 

Dear  Saviour,  if  these  lambs.  .Mrs.  A.  B.  Hyde 

Dear  Saviour,  prostrate  at  thy 5.  Stennett 

Dear  Saviour,  we  are  thine P.  Doddridge 

Dear  Saviour,  when  my  Miss  A  .  Steele 

Dear  Sheplierd  of  thy  people J.  Newton 

Dear  ties  of  mutual  succor W.  C.  Bryant 

Dearest  of  all  the  names  above /.  Watts 

Dearest  of  names,  our  Lord,  our 5'.  Medley 

Death  cannot  make  our  souls  afraid.../.  Watts 

Death  may  dissolve  my  body  now /.  Watts 

Death  !  't  is  a  melancholy  day /.  Watts 

Deathless  spirit !  now  arise. A.  M.  Toplady 

Deep  are  the  wounds  which  ?\n.Miss  A.  Steele 

Deep  in  our  hearts  let  us  record /.  Watts 

Deep  in  the  dust  before  Thy  throne../.  Watts 
Deign  this  union  to  approve  .  W.  B.  Collyer 
Delay  not,  delay  not,  O  sinner  !. . .  7".  Hastings 

Depth  of  mercy  ! — can  there  be C.  Wesley 

Descend,  celestial  Dove J.  Fellows 

Descend  from  heaven,  celestial  Dove.._/.  Hart 
Descend  from  heaven,  immortal..    . .  /.  Watts 

Did  Christ  o'er  sinners  weep B.  Beddome 

Dismiss  us  with  J'hy  blessing.  Lord  !  J.  Hart 
Disposer  supreme  .  . .  Santolius  Victorinus 
Do  not  I  love  Thee,  O  my  . .  P.  Doddridge 
Do  we  not  know  that  .solemn  word. . . ./.  Watts 
Does  the  Gospel  word  proclaim.   . .  .J.  Newton 

Done  IS  the  work  that  saves H.  Bonar 

Down  to  the  sacred  wave S.  F.  Smith 

Draw,  Holy  Spirit,  Thy  seven-fold  .../".  Keble 
Draw,  Holy  Spirit,  nearer. .'  . .  C.J.  P.  Spitta 
Draw  nigh  and  take  the  body.Tr.,y.  M.  Neale 

Draw  nigh,  draw  nigh Tr.,y.  M.  Neale 

Dread  Jehovah,  God  of  nations  ..  .T.  Cotterill 
Dread  Sovereign  !  let  my  evening.  .  /.  Watts 
Drooping  souls,  no  longer  mourn  . .  T.  Hastings 

Dying  souls,  fast  bound  in  sin T.  Hastings 

Each  coming  night,  O  Lord,  v!e...J.  D.  Burns 

Early,  my  God  !  without  delay /.  Watts 

Earth  below  is  teeming J.  S.  B.  Monsell 

Earth  has  engrossed  my  love  too  long./.  Watts 
Earth  has  many  a  noble  city  .  .Tr.,  E.  Caswail 
Earth  has  nothing  sweet.. Tr.,  Miss  F.  E.  Cox 
Earth  to  earth,  and  dust  to  dnst..y.  //.  Gurney 

Earth  with  her  ten  thousand T,  R.  Taylor 

Earth's  transitory  things  decay. . .  .J.  Bowring 
Eight  days  amid  this  world  of  woe. ._/.  Anstice 
Emptied  of  earth  I  fain  would.  .A.  .M.  Toplady 

P'.nthroned  is  Jesus  now.      T.J.Judkin 

Enthroned  on  high,  Almighty  Lord!  T.  Haweis 
l-;re  earth's  foundations,  'Xx.Sliss  C.  Winkwortk 
Ere  God  had  built  the  mountains..  W.  Cowper 
Ere  I  sleep,  for  every  favor  .    .....  ,J.  Cennick 

Ere  thebliie  heavens  were  stretched../.  Watts 
Ere  the  waning  light  decay 

Ambrose,  Tr.,  R.  Wrent 
Eternal  depth  of  love  divine.  A^.  L.Zinzendor/ 
Eternal  Father,  Thou  hast  said.     .   R.  Palmer 

Eternal  God,  almighty  Cause! 5'.  Browne 

Eternal  God,  we  look  to  Thee J.  Merrick 

Eternal  Power,  whose  high  abode /.  Watts 

Eternal  Source  of  every  good  \.....B.  Beddome 
Eternal  Source  of  every  joy  !. . . .  P.  Doddridge 
Eternal  Spirit !  by  whose.   ...W.H.  Bathurst 


INDEX  OF  HY:MNS. 


703 


Eternal  Spirit,  God  of  truth  ! T.  Cotterill 

Eternall  Spirit,  Source  of  light S.  Davies 

Eternal  Spirit,  Source  of  truth J.  Hart 

Eternal  Spirit  !  we  confess /.  Watts 

Eternal  Sun  of  righteousness  ! C.  Wesley  | 

Eternal  Wisdom  !  Thee  we  praise.   . . ./.  Watts 

Eternity  is  just  at  hand Miss  A.  Steele 

Ever  would  I  fain  be.Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkworth 

Every  morning,  mercies  new H.  Bona-^ 

Every  morning  the  red   Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander 

Exalt  the  Lord  our  God     /.  Watts 

Extended  on  a  cursed  tree     P.  Gerhardt 

Exult  all  hearts  with  . .  .Tr.,  J.  D.  Chambers 
Fade,  fade  each  earthly  joy  ..Mrs.  H.  Bonar 
Faint  not,  Christian  !  though  the./.  H.  Evans 
Fair  shines  the  morning  star  . ./.  Montgomery 
Faith  adds  new  charms  to  earthly.  .D.  Turner 
Faith,  hope,  and  charity  . .  /.  Montgomery 

Faith  is  the  brightest  evidence /.  Watts 

Faith  of  our  fathers  !  living  still.,  i^  W.  Faber 

Faith,  't  is  a  precious  grace B.  Beddome 

Faithful,  O  Lord,  Thy  mercies./.  Montgomery 
Far  as  creation's  bounds  extend  ...J.  Merrick 

Far  as  Thy  name  is  known /.  Watts 

Far  down  the  ages  now   H.  Bonar 

Far  from  mortal  cares  retreating .   ...J.  Taylor 

Far  from  my  heavenly  home H.  F.  Lyie 

Far  from  my  thoughts,  vain  world  !.../.  Watts 
Far  from  the  world,  O  Lord  !  I  flee.  W.  Cowper 
Far  from  these  narrow  scenes  ..  .Miss  A.  Steele 
Far  from  Thy  servants,  gracious./".  Doddridge 

Fastened  within  the  veil A.  M.  Toplady 

Father  and  Lord  of  our  whole  life J.  Keble 

Father,  at  Thy  footstool  see C.  Wesley 

Father,  bless  Thy  word  to  all T.  Kelly 

Father,  by  Thy  love  and  power /.  Anstice 

Father,  for  Thy  promised  \i\&%^\n%.A.  Midlane 
Father,  hear  the  blood  of  Jesus. .  .  . .  C.  Wesley 
Father  !  how  wide  Thy  glory  shines../.  Watts 

Father  !  1  long,  I  faint,  to  see    /.  Watts 

Father,  I  sing  Thy  wondrous  grace. . ./.  Watts 
Father,  I  stretch  my  hands  to  Thee,  .C  Wesley 

Father,  in  these  reveal  Thy  love C.  Wesley 

Father  !  in  Thy  mysterious S.Johnson 

Father  !  in  whom  we  live C.   Wesley 

Father  of  all,  from  land  and  sea.  C.  Wordsworth 
Father  of  all,  whose  powerful  voice.    /.  Wesley 

Father  of  eternal  grace! /.  Conder 

Father  of  eternal  grace  ! /.  Montgomery 

Father  of  glory  !  to  Thy  name  /.  Watts 

Father  of  Heaven  above  !  E.  H.  Bickersteth 
Father  of  mercies  !  bow  Thine  ear.  B.  Beddome 

Father  of  mercies  !  condescend T.  Morell 

Father  of  mercies,  God  of  Mrs.  A.  Flowerdew 
Father  of  mercies,  God  of  love  !  O.  Heginbothom 

Father  of  mercies,  God  of  love  ! 5.  Medley 

Father  of  mercies,  God  of  love  !. . .  Thos.  Raffles 

Father  of  mercies,  hear Gregory  I. 

Father  of  mercies,  hear T.  J.  Judkin 

Father  of  mercies  !  in  Thy  house.  P.  Doddridge 
Father  of  mercies  !  in  Thy  word.  Miss  A.  Steele 

Father  of  mercies  !  send  Thy P.  Doddridge 

Father  !  our  hearts  we  lift C.  Wesley 

Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  !     C.  Wesley 

Father,  Thine  elect  who  lovest T.  H.  Gill 

Father,  Thy  name  be  praised 

Tr.,  Miss  C.  Wink-worth 

Father,  Thy  will,  not  mine /.  Montgomery 

Father,  'tis  Thine  each  day  to  yield...  .£.  Osier 

Father,  to  Thy  sinful  child /.  Conder 

I'ather,  we  humbly  pray C.  Words-worth 

Father  Iwhate'er  of  earthly  bliss.  Miss  A.  Steele 
Father,  who  didst  fashion  me.  Tr.,  H.  W.  Baker 
Father,  whose  hand  hath  led  me  so  securely 

Tr.,  R.  Massie 
Father,  whose  love  and  truth  fulfil  — E.  Osier 

Fear  not,  O  little Tr.,  Miss  C.  Wink-worth 

Fierce  was  the  wild  billow 

Anatoliusy  Tr.,/.  M.  Neale 


Fight  the  good  fight !  lay  hold.  /.  Montgomery 
Fight  the  good  fight  with  all  thy.../.  Monsell 

Firm  and  unmoved  are  they ./.  Watts 

Firm  as  the  earth  Thy  gospel  stands. ./.  Watts 
First  of  martyrs,  Thou. .  .Santolius  Victorinus 
Fling  out  the  banner,  let  it  float.  G.  W.  Doane 
Flow  fast,  my  tears  !  the  cause  is. . .  W.  Shirley 

Fling  to  the  heedless  winds. M.  Luther 

Fly,  ye  sinners,  to  yon  mountain./?.  Burnham. 

For  a  season  called  to  part /.  Ne-wton 

For  all  Thy  saints,  O  Lord ^R.  Mant 

For  all  Thy  saints,  who  from W.  W.  How 

For  ever  here  my  rest  shall  be C.   Wesley 

For  ever  with  the  Lord  ! ./.  Montgomery 

For  man  the  Saviour. .     .Santolius  Victorinus 

For  me  vouchsafed A.M.  Toplady 

For  mercies  countless /.  Newton 

For  the  Apostles  glorious W.  W.  How 

For  the  mercies  of  the  day J.  Montgomery 

For  thee,  U  dear,  dear  country.  Tr.,  /.  M.  Neale 

For  those  in  bonds T.  Hastings 

For  Thy  dear  saint,  O  Lord         ..R.  Mani 

"  Forbid  them  not,"  the  Saviour..  T.  Hastings 

Forget  thyself,  Christ  bade T.  HoLstitigs 

Forgive  us.  Lord  !  to  Thee  we  cry.  T.  Hastings 
Forth  from  the  dark  and  stormy  sky.  R.  Heber 
Forth  in  Thy  name,  O  Lord  !  I  go.  . .  C.  Wesley 

Fount  of  everlasting  love R.  Palmer 

Fountain  of  good,  to  own  Thy../".  Doddridge 
Fountain  of  grace,  rich,  full     .    . ./.  Edmeston 

Fountain  of  mercy Mrs.  A .  Flowerdew 

Frequent  the  day  of  God  returns.  ...S.  Browne 
Friend  after  friend  departs. ..../.  Montgomery 

Friend  of  sinners,  Lord  of  glory N.  Hall 

From  all  that  dwell  below  the  skies. . ./.  Watts 

From  Calvary  a  cry  was /.  IV.  Cunninghatn 

From  day  to  day  before  o\ir  e-^es,  J.Montgomery 
From  deep  distress  and  troubled  .  . ./.  Watts 
From  depths  of  woe  I  raise  to  Thee 

M.  Luther,  Tr.,  R.  Massie 

From  distant  corners W.  L.  Alexander 

From  Egypt  lately  come T.  Kelly 

From  every  earthlj'  pleasure E.  Davis 

From  every  stormy  wind  that  blows. /^.  Stowell 

From  foes  that  would  the  land     R.  Heber 

From  Greenland's  icy  mountains  . ..  .R.  Heber 
From  highest  Heaven,  the  Eternal.//.  W.  Baker 

From  highest  Heaven i'r.,  E.  Caswall 

From  the  cross  the  blood  is  falling.     H.  Bonar 

From  the  cross  uplifted  high T.  Haweis 

From  the  recesses  of  a  lowly  spirit./.  Bowring 

From  the  table  now  retiring /.  Rowe 

From  Thee,  my  God  !  my  joys  shall. ./.  Watts 

From  Thy  dear,  pierced  side  B.  Beddome 

Full  of  trembling  expectation .  .  .C.  Wesley 
'Gainst  what  foemen  art,  Santolius  Victorinus 

Gently,  gently  lay  Thy  rod H.  F.  Lyte 

Gently,  Lord  !  oh  !  gently  lead  us..  T.  Hastings 

Gently,  my  Saviour  !  let  me  down. R.  Hill 

Gird  on  Thy  conquering  sword../".  Doddridge 
Gird  Thy  sword  on,  mighty  Saviour.../.  Ryland 

Give  glory  to  God  in  the .J.  Montgomery 

Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise /.  Watts 

Give  thanks  to  God,  He  reigns  above../.  Watts 

Give  thanks  to  God  most  high /.  Watts 

Give  to  our  God  immortal  praise /.  Watts 

Give  to  the  Lord,  ye  sons  of  fame /.  Watts 

Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears P.  Gerhardt 

Give  us  room  that  we  may  dwell   T.  Kelly 

Glad  was  my  heart  to  hear.  .  /.  Montgomery 
Glorious  things  of  Thee  are  spoken../  Newton 

Glory,  and  laud   and  honor Theodulph 

Glory  and  praise  to  Thee,  Redeemer.  Theodulph 

Glory  be  to  God  on  high   .  C.  Wesley 

Glory  be  to  God,  the  Father H.  Bonar 

Glory  be  to  Jesus Tr.,  £".  Caszvah 

Glory,  glory  everlasting T.  Kelly 

Gloiy,  glory  to  our  King    T.  Kelly 

Glory  to  God  on  high,  let ./.  Allen 


704 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


Glory  to  God  on  high,  our J.  Hart 

Glory  10  God  the  i  ather  be J.  Mason 

Glory  to  God  who  when  with..  T.  D.  Chambers 

Glory  to  God  with  joyful  adoration E.  Osier 

Glory  to  th'  Almighty  Father.. /K  H.  Bathurst 

Glory  to  the  Father  give J.  Montgomery 

Glory  to  Thee,  my  God  !  this  night. .  . .  T.  Ken 

Glory  to  Thee  who  safe  hast  kept T.  Ken 

Go,  and  the  Saviour's  grace  proclaim..  T.  Morell 
Go,  labor  on,  spend  and  be  spent....//.  Bonar 

Go,  labor  on,  while  it  is  day H.  Bonar 

"Go,  preach  My  gospel,"  saith  the.../.  Watts 

Go  to  dark  Gethsemane J,  Montgomery 

Go  to  the  grave  in  all  thy..  J,  Montgomery 
Go  to  thy  rest,  fair  child.il/rj.  Z.  H.  Sigourney 
Go,  tune  thy  voice  to  varied  songs..  T,  Hastings 

Go  up,  go  up,  my  heart   H.  Bonar 

Go,  worship  at  Immanuel's  feet /.  Watts 

God  calling  yet  ?  shall. .Tr.,  Miss  J.  Borth-wick 
God  eternal.  Lord  of  all !. .  .Tr.,  /.  E.  J\Hllard 

God  eternal,  mighty  King     J.  E.  Millard 

God  from  on  high  hath  heard C.  Coffin 

God  in  His  earthly  temple  lays   /.  Watts 

God,  in  the  gospel  of  His  Son  ..B.  Beddome 
God  in  tne  high  and  holy  place..y.  Montgomery 

God  is  a  Spirit,  just  and  wise /.  Watts 

God  is  gone  up  on  high C.  Wesley 

God  is  in  His  holy  temple J.  Montgomery 

God  is  love.  His  mercy  brightens..  J.  Boiuring 

God  is  my  strong  salvation J.  Montgomery 

God  is  our  refuge  and  defense , ._/.  Montgomery 

God  is  our  refuge  in  distress M.  Luther 

God  is  our  strength,  away  our  fear E.  Osier 

God  is  the  name  my  soul  adores /.  Watts 

God  is  the  refuge  of  His  saints..    /.  Watts 

God,  most  mighty,  soverei.;n. . .,//.  Harbatigh 
God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way  .  W.  Cowper 
God,  my  King,  Thy  might  confessing./?.  Mant 

God,  my  Supporter  and  my  Hope /.  Watts 

God  of  Israel,  we  adore  Thee   T.  Kelly 

God  of  mercy,  God  of  grace  ! H.  F.  Lyte 

God  of  mercy,  God  of  love  ! J.  Taylor 

God  of  mercy,  hear  our  prayer.  . .  .T,  Hastings 
God  of  my  childhood  and  my  youth. ./.  Watts 
God  of  my  life!  look  gently  ciown  .  /.  Watts 
God  of  my  life  !  through  all  my.  .P.  Doddridge 
God  of  my  life,  Thy  boundless.. TI/mj  C.  Elliott 
God  of  my  life,  to  Thee  belong.  ..Miss  E.  Scott 

God  of  my  life  !  to  Thee  I  call W.  Cotv^er 

God  of  my  mercy  and  my  praise /.  Watts 

God  of  my  salvation  !  hear     C.  Wesley 

God  of  our  fathers,  by  whose P.  Doddridge 

God  of  our  life  !  Thy  various..  C  Heginbothom 
God  of  our  life,  to  Thee  we  call. . .  .  W.  Cowper 
God  of  our  salvation  !  hear  us  T.  Kelly 

God  of  that  glorious  gift  of  grace  .  .  J.  Monsell 
God  of  the  morning!  at  whose  voice. ./.  ]Vatts 

God  of  the  morning  ray T.  Hastings 

God  of  the  nations!  bow  Thine../'.  Hastings 
God  of  the  passing  year  I  to..  A.  A.  Woodhull 
God  of  the  sunlight  hours  !  Mrs.  M.  G.  Saffery 

God  our  hope  and  strength  abiding J.  Keble 

God  reveals  His  presence G.  Tersteegen 

God  shall  charge  His  angel.  . .  .J.  Montgomery 
God  the  Father,  from  Thy     .   .     H.  W.  Baker 

God  the  Lord  a  King  remaineth .J.  Keble 

God,  who  madest  earth  and  heaven  .R.  Heber 
God  s  glory  is  a  wondrous  thing  .F.  W.  Faber 
God's  holy  law  transgressed  .  ..B.  Beddome 
God  is  the  Lord,  the  heavenly  King../.  Watts 
Good  news  from  heaven  the  angels  bring 

Luther.,  Tr.,  A.  T.  Russell 
Grace,  like  an  uncorrupted  seed  ...  /.  IVatts 
Grace  !  'tis  a  charming  sound. . .  .P.  Doddridge 
Gracious  Lord,  incline  Thine. . .  W.  Hammond 

Gracious  Redeemer,  shake C.  Wesley 

Gracious  Saviour,  gentle W.  H.  Havergal 

Gracious  Saviour,  gentle  . . .  .Miss  J .  E.  Lesson 
Gracious  Saviour,  thus  before H.  Bateman  ■ 


Gracious  Spirit,  Dove  divine y.  Stacker 

Gracious  Spirit,  Holy  Ghost. . . C.  iVordsiuorth 
Grant  me  within  Thy  courts..  J.  Montgomery 

Granted  is  the  Saviour's  prayer C.  Wesley 

Great  Creator  !  who  this  day.  Mrs.  J.  A .  Elliott 
Great  Father  of  each  perfect  gift.  /'.  Doddridge 

Great  Father  of  mankind  !   P.  Doddridge 

Great  Former  of  this  various  P.  Doddridge 

Great  God  !  and  wilt  Thou  ..  Miss  J.  Taylor 
Great  God  !  attend  while  Zion  sings.../.  Watts 
Great  God  !  how  infinite  art  Ihou  . . ./.  Watts 
Great  God  !  impress  our  trifling.     .   G.  Burder 

Great  God  !  indulge  my  humble /.  Watts 

Great  God  !  let  all  my  tuneful.  O.  Heginbothom 
Great  God  !  let  children  to  thy.  .E.  Bickersteth 

Great  God  !  now  condescend J.  Fellows 

Great  God,  o'er  heaven  and  earth  .  E.  Osier 
Great  God  of  Heaven  and  earth.  .P.  Doddridge 
Great  God  of  nations,  now. . .  .A.  A.  Woodhull 
Great  God  of  wonders,  all  Thy  ways.  .S.  Davies 
Great  God  !  the  nalionsof  the  earth.  T.  Gibbons 
Great  God  !  this  sacred  day   . .    .Miss  A.  Steele 

Great  God  !  to  Thee  my Miss  A.  Steele 

Great  God  !  to  what  a  glorious  height.  /.  Watts 
Great  God  !  we  sing  thy  mighty.  P.Doddridge 
Great  God  !  what  do  I  see 

A.  B.  Ringwaldt,  Tr.,  W.  B.  Colly er 
Great  God  !  when  I  approach.  W.  H.  Bathurst 

Great  God  !  where'er  we  pitch T.  Rippon 

Great  God !  who  hid  from  mortal 

C.  Coffin,  Tr.,  H.  W.  Baker 

Great  God  !  whose  awful  mystery E.  Osier 

Great  God  !  whose  universal  sway. . . ./.  Watts 

Great  God  !  with  wonder /.  Watts 

Great  High  Priest !  we  view  Thee.. .  .  .J.  Hart 
Great  is  our  guilt,  our  fears  .  . .  .Miss  A.  Steele 
Great  i»  the  Lord,  his  works  of  might.  /.  Watts 

Great  is  the  Lord,  our  God  /.  IVatts 

Great  is  the  Lord  !  what  tongue  can../.  Watts 
Great  King  of  glory  and  of  grace. . . .  /.  Watts 

Great  King  of  glory  !  come B.  Francis 

Great  King  of  nations  !  hear  our.  J.  H.  Gurney 

Great  King  of  saints  !  enthroned .J.  Conder 

Great  Lord  of  all  Thy  churches.  W.  Kingsbury 
Great  mover  of  all  hearts,  whose  hand.  C.  Coffin 

Great  Prophet  of  our  God  !   /.  Watts 

Great  Ruler  of  all  nature's  frame  !  P.  Doddridge 
Great  Ruler  of  the  earth  and  .  .Miss  A.  Steele 
Great  Shepherd  of  Thine  Israel. . .  .  /.  Watts 
Great  Shepherd  of  Thy  people,  hear.  J.  Newton 
Great  Shepherd  of  Thy  ransomed,..,/.  Newton 
Great  Source  of  being  and  of.  . .  P.  Doddridge 
Great  Source  of  life,  our  souls./".  Doddridge  \a) 

Great  Spirit !  by  whose  mighty T.  Haweis 

Great  Sun  of  righteousness  !  arise.  . . .  /.  Watts 
Great  the  joy  when  Christians  meet.  G.  Burder 
Guide  me.  O  Thou  great  Jehovah  !  W.  Williams 
Guide  us,  Thou,  whose  name..  W.Williams  (a) 
Had  I  the  tonguesof  (Greeks  and  Jews. /.  Watts 
Hail,  everlasting  Spring  .   .  P.  Doddridge 

Hail,  happy  day,  thou  day  of  holy.  6".  Browne 
Hail,  holy  day,  most  blest  .  Miss  C.  Elliott 
Hail !  holy,  holy,  holy.  Lord  !  Let.  E.  Perronet 

Hail !  holy,  holy,  holy.  Lord  ! C.  Wesley 

Hail,  holy  Spirit,  bright,  immortal.  5.  Browne 
Hail !  mighty  Jesus,  how  divine...  .  B,  Wallin 
Hail  I  morning,  known  among. .../?.  Wardlaiu 
Hail  !  source  of  pleasures,  ever  T.  Blacklock 
Hail  !  that  head  with.  .Be7-nard of  Clairvaux 

Hail  the  day  that  sees  him  rise  ! C.  Wesley 

Hail  the  joyful  day's  return R.  Campbell 

Hail,  Thou  bright  and  sacred.  Mrs.  J.  A .  Elliott 
Hail  !  Thou  God  of  grace  and. .  T.  W,  Aveling 
Hail  !  Thou  long-expected  Jesus  . . .  .C.  Wesley 
Hail  !  Thou  once  despised  Jesus  !. ._/.  Bakewell 
Hail  to  the  brightness  of  Zion's. .  .  T.  Hastings 
Hail  to  the  Lord's  Anointed  \..J,  Montgomery 
Hail  to  the  Prince  of  life  and  . .  P.  Doddridge 
Hail  to  the  Sabbath  day S.  G.  Bulfitich 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


705 


Hail!  tranquil  hour  of  closing  day  !.  ../^.  Bacon 
Hallelujah  !  best  and  sweetest. Tr.,/.  Chandler 
Halleluiah  !  fairest  morning 

Ti.,  Miss  J.  Borihwick 

Hallelujah  I  Hallelujah  ! C.   Wordsworth 

Hallelujah  !  He  cometh  with.'i?.  H.  Bickersteth 

Hallelujah  !  joyful  raise C.  N.  Hall 

Hallelujah  !  raise,  Oh  !  raise J.  Conder 

Happy  is  he  that  fears  the  Lord   /.  U  atts 

Happy  soul  !  thy  days  are  ended C.  Wesley 

Happy  the  church.  Thou  sacred  place.  /.  Watts 
Happy  the  heart  where  graces  reign.. ./.  Watts 
Happy  the  man,  whose  cautious  feet  . ./.  Watts 

Happy  the  souls  to  Jesus  joined C.  Wesley 

Happy  they  that  find  a  rest H.  F.  Lyte 

Hark  !  a  thrilling  voice  is  sounding 

Ambrose,  Tr.,  E.  Cas-wall 

Hark  !  a  voice  divides  the  sky C.  Wesley 

Hark  !  from  the  tombs  a  doleful  sound.  /.  Watts 
Hark  !  hark,  my  soul.  Angelic ....  i^.  W.  Falter 

Hark  !  hark,  the  notes  of  joy A.  Reed 

Hark  !  how  all  the  welkin  rings C.  Wesley 

Hark  !  ho w  the  choral  song R.  S.  McA  II 

Hark  !  how  the  waichmen  cry     C.  U  esley 

Hark  !  my  soul  '  it  is  the  Lord.  fK.  Cowfer 
Hark!  ten  thousand  harpsand  voices.   T.Kelly 

Hark  !  the  disiant  isles W.  H.  Bathurst 

Hark  the  glad  sound  !  the  Saviour  P.  Doddridge 
Hark  !  the  herald  angels  sing  ...  C.  Wesley 
Hark  I  the  nightly  church  .E.  H.  Bickersteth 
Hark  !  the  judgment  trumpet. .A^.  5.5.  Beman 
Haik  the  loud  triumphant  strams.   ...  7".  Kelly 

Hark  the  notes  of  angels  singing T.  Kelly 

Hark  !  the  song  of  jubilee /.  Montgomery 

Hark  the  sound  of  holy  voices.  C.  Wordsworth 
Hark  !  the  voice  of  Jesu';  calling.,  .y^.  Midlane 
Hark  !  the  voice  of  love  and  mercy.../.  Evans 
Hark  !  'tis  the  watchman's  cry  ..H.Bonar 
Hark  to  the  solemn  bell..  Mrs. J.  L.  Gray 
Hark  '.  what  mean  those  holy  voices./.  Ca-wood 
Hark,  what  mean  ihose.  J,  Cawood 

Haste,  traveler,  haste,  the  night.  fF.  B.  Collycr 
Hasten,  Lord,  to  my  release. .  .  J.Montgomery 
Hasten,  sinner  !  to  be  wise  . .  'J'-  Scott 

Hasten  the  time  appointed. J/Zm/.  Borthunck  j 

Have  mercy,  Lord,  on  me Tate  and  Brady 

Have  mercy  on  us,  God  most  K\^h.F.li'.  Faber  \ 

He  is  coming,  he  is Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander  j 

He  comes  in  blood-stained. .1/rj.  C.L.Bancroft 
He  dies— the  friend  of  sinners  dies...   /.  Uatts\ 

He  has  come!  the  Christ  of  God H.  Bonar 

He  is  here  whom  seers  in  old  Tr.,/.  M.  Is eale 
He  is  risen.  He  is  xx^itix.  .Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander 
He  knelt— the  Saviour.  .  Mrs.  F.  D.  Hematis 
He  lives  !  he  lives  !  and  sits  above  . .  /.  Watts 
He  lives— the  everlasting  God   . .  /.  Watts 

He  lives— the  great  Redeemer. .  Miss  A.  Steele 
He  reigns,  the  Lord,  the  Saviour  reigns./.  Watts 
He  sendeth  sun.  He  sendeth.yl/?-J.  5.  F.  Adams 
He  spake,  and  gathering  into.  J.  D.  Chambers 
He  that  goeth  forth  with  weeping. .  /'.  Hastings 
He  that  hath  made  his  refuge,  God..  ./.  Watts 
He  who  on  earth  as  man  was  known../.  Newton 
He  who  once  in  righteous  . . .  Tr.,  E.  Cas-wall 
Head  of  the  Church,  our  risen  Lord. ./.  Conder 

Head  of  the  Church  triumphant C.  Wesley 

Head  of  the  hosts  in  glory     M.  Bridges 

Heal  us,  ImmanueU  heai-  our  prayer  W.  Cowper 
Hear,  gracious  God,  a  sinner's  cry. .  S.  Medley 
Hear,  giacious  God,  my  humble. y)/z>i- ^.  Steele 
Hear,  gracious  Sovereign,  from. ../'.  Doddridge 
Hear  my  prayer,  O  heavenly        Miss  H.  Parr 

Hear,  O  Sinner  ;  mercy  hails  you A.  Reed 

Hear  what  God.  the  Lord,  hath.  . . .  W.  Cowper 
H'ar  what  the  voice  from  heaven         ./.  Watts 

Hearken,  1  ord  !  to  my /.  Montgomery 

Heart-broken,  friendless,  poor../.  Montgomery 

Hearts  of  stone  !  relent,  relent     C.  Wesley 

Heavenly  Father  !  to  whose  eye /.  Conder 


Heavenly  Spirit  !  may  each  heart../.  Edmeston. 

Heirs  of  unending  life... B.  Beddome 

Help  us,  O  Lord,  Thy  yoke  to  wear./.  Cotterill 

Heralds  of  creation  !  cry ./.  Montgotnery 

Here  at  Thy  cross,  incarnate  God /.  Watts 

Here  I  can  firmly  rest 

P.  Gerhardt.  Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkworth 
Here,  O  my  Lord,  I  see  Thee  sweet.  H.  Bonar 
Here  at  1  hy  table.  Lord  !  we  meet  5.  Stennett 
Here  in  Thy  name,  eternal  God!./.  Montgomery 

Here,  Lord  !  by  faith  I  see  Thee H.  Bonar 

He's  gone,  see  where  His  body  lay  T.  Kelly 
He's  gone,  the  Saviour's  work  on. .  E.  Denny 
Here  the  King  hath  spread  his.^.  R.  Thompson 
High  in  the  heavens,  eternal  God  !. . ../.  Watts 

High  in  yonder  realms  of  light T.  Raffles 

High  let  us  swell  our  tuneful  .P.Doddridge 
His  kingdom  comes,  ye  saints,  rejoice. .£.  Osier 

Ho  !  every  one  that  thirsts  ! C.  Wesley 

Ho  !  ye  needy,  come  and  welcome  .     .  /.  Hart 

Holiest  !  breathe  an  evening ./.  Edmeston 

Holy  and  reverend  is  the  name     . ./.  Needham 

Holy  Bible  !  book  divine  ./.  Burton 

Holy,  delightful  day  ! ..T.  H.  Gill 

Holy  Father  !  hear  my  cry H.Bonar 

Holy  Father  !  I  hou  hast  taught  . . ./.  M.  Neale 
Holy  Ghost  !  dispel  our. . .  .Tr.,  A.  M.  Toplady 
Holy  Ghost  !  my  soul  inspire.  .  R.  Mant 
Holy  Ghost  that,  promised,  came..../?.  Palmer 

Holy  Ghost  !  with  light  divine A.  Reed 

Holy,  holy,  holy.  Lord   /.  Conder 

Holy,  holy,  holy  !  Lord  God   .      . .         R-  Heber 

Holy   holy,  holy  !  \.oxAGoi^o{.. C.Wordsworth 

\  Holy,  holy,  holy  !  Lord  God..  .  /.  Montgomery 

I  Holy,  holy,  holy  !  Lord,  God  the     .   C.  Wesley 

Holy,  holy,  holy.  Lord!  Self-exist'nt./.  Ryland 

Holy  Jesus,  Saviour  blest R.  Mant 

Holy,  Lord,  the  godly  fail H.F.  Lyte 

Holy  offering,  rich  and  rare.. ../.  5.  B.  Monsell 

Holy  Saviour,  we  adore J.G.  Deck 

Holy  Spirit,  come,  we  pray Tr.,  W.  Mercer 

Holy  Spirit,  fount  of  blessing.   ..-T.J.  Judkin 

Holy  Spirit,  from  on  high W.H.  Bathurst 

Holy 'Spirit,  from  on  high Robert  U. 

Holy  Spirit,  gently  come W.  Hamtnond 

Holy  Spirit,  in  my  heart.. R.  Mant 

Holy  Spirit,  Lord  of  Light  „       ^    ^ 

Robert  iL,^t.,E.Caswall 
Holy  Spirit!  once...   i:x.,Miss  C.  Winkworth 

Hope  of  our  hearts  !  O  Lord  ! E.  Denny 

Ho-anna!  be  the  children's  song./.  Montgomery 
Hosanna  !  raise  the  pealing.  ..IK.  H.  Havergal 

Hosanna  to  our  conquering  King   /.  Watts 

Hosanna  to  the  living  Lord  ! R-  ^f''^'' 

Hosanna  to  the  Prince  of  grace /.  ffl««-f 

■Hosanna  to  the  Prince  of  light ^  '•^J^*^^ 

How  are  Thy  servants  blessed /.  Addison 

How  beauteous  are  their  feet. /.  Watts 

How  beauteous  on  the  mountains.  ..B.Gough 
Howteauteuus  were  the  marks  ■■  ■A-f.  Coxe 
How  beautiful  the  feet  that  bring./.  Mason  (a) 
How  blest  is  he,  how  truly. . .      .Miss  A  .Steele 

How  blest  the  feet  wViich  bring J.  Mason 

How  blest  the  man  whose  cautious  . . .   I.W  atts 

How  blest  the  man  whose       -^ '„      f'^i  j 

How  blest  the  righteous. .71/r-j.  A.  L.  Barbauld 

How  blest  the  sacred Mrs.  A  .  L.  Barbauld 

How  blest  were  they  who  walked L.  Loffin 

How  bright  these  glorious  spirits  .  .^   J-  Watts 
How  calm  and  beautiful  the  morn.  T.  "'^fjng^ 
How  can  I  sink  with  such  a  prop         . /.    Watts 
How  can  we  adore,  or  worthily.   W.  Hatnmond 
How  charming  is  the  place. ...... -5.  Stennett 

How  clearly  are  His  torturing. Tr.,  E.  Caswall 
How  condescending  and  how  kind  . . ./.   W""/ 

How  did  my  heart  rt-joice  to  hear /.  tVatt^ 

How  far  beyond  our  mortal  . . .  .Miss  A.  Steele 
How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints.  G.  Keith  (.?) 
How  full  of  anguish  is  the  thought /.  Watts 


706 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


How  gentle  God's  commands. . .  .P.  Doddridge 

How  graciously  the  Lord W.  H.  Bathurst 

How  great  the  wisdom,  power B,  Beddome 

How  happy  are  the  souls  above R,  Elliot 

How  happy  every  child  of  giace C.  Wesley 

How  happy  is  the  child    M.Bruce 

How  happy  is  the  man  who  hears. . .  .M.  Bruce 
How  happy  is  the  pilgrim's  lot. ....._/.  Wesley 

How  heavy  is  the  night I.  Watts 

How  helpless  guilty  nature  \\&%..Miss  A.  Steele 

How  honorable  is  the  place /.  Watts 

How  honored,  how  dear.  . J.  Conder 

How  large  the  promise,  how  divine..  . ./.  Watts 
How  long,  O  Lord,  shall  I  complain.  /.  Watts 
How  long  shall  earth's  alluring  .Miss  A.  Steele 
How  long  the  time  since  Christ  began.  R.  Heber 
How  lovely  are  1  hy  dwellings  fair.  .  .J.  Milton 
How  oft,  alas  !  this  wretched. .  Miss  A.  Steele 
How  oft  have  sin  and  Satan  strove. .  . ./.  Watts 
How  pleasant,  how  divinely  fair      ..../.  Watts 

How  pleasant  't  is  to  see   /.  Watts 

How  pleased  and  blessed  was  I /.  Watts 

How  precious  is  the  book  divine.  /.  Faivcett 
How  rich  are  Thy  provisions,  Lord  !. ./.  Watts 
How  rich  Thy  bounty,  King  of.  .P.  Doddridge 
How  rich  Thy  gifts,  almighty  King  !  A.  Kippis 

How  sad  our  state  by  nature  is  ! /.  Watts 

How  shall  a  contrite  spirit  pray.  y.  Montgomery 

How  shall  I  follow  Him J.  Conder 

How  shall  the  sons  of  men  appear.  5.  Stennett 
How  shall  the  young  secure  their. . . .  I.  Watts 

How  short  and  hasty  is  our  life /.  Watts 

How  should  the  sons  of  Adam's  race../.  Watts 
How  sweet  and  awful  is  the  place.  .  /.  Watts 
How  sweet,  how  heavenly  is  the  sight. _/.  Swain 
How  sweet  the  hour  of  closing.  W.  H.  Bathurst 
How  sweet  the  melting  lay.  Mrs.  P.  H.  Brown 
How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds.  J.  Neivion 
How  sweet  to  bless  the  Lord.   .  W.  Urwick 

How  sweet  to  leave  the  world  awhile.  T.  Kelly 
How  sweetly  flowed  the  gospel's.  .  J.  Boiuring 

How  swift  the  torrent  rolls P.  Doddridge 

How  tedious  and  tasteless  the  hours.  J.  Newton 
How  tender  is  Thy  hand.  . .    T.  Hastings 

How  vain  are  all  things  here  below  .  . ./.  Watts 
How  vain  is  all  beneath  the  skies. .   D.  E.  Ford 

How  welcome  was  the  call H.  W.  Baker 

How  will  my  heait  endure  ..  ..P.  Doddridge 
How  wondrous  and  great  .  .  .H.  U.  Onderdonk 
How  wondrous  great,  how  glorious. . .  /.  Watts 
Humble  Lord  !  my  haughty  spirit. .  .H.  F.  Lyte 
Humble  souls  who  seek  salvation.. ._/.  Faivcett 
I  asked  the  Lord  that  I  might  gtov/.J.  Newton 

I  bless  the  Christ  of  God H.  Bonar 

I  bow  me  to  Thy  will.  . .    .It.,  F.  W.  Faber  (a) 

I  build  on  this  foundation Tr.,  R.  Masste 

I  cannot  call  affliction  sweet  .    .J,  Montgomery 

I  did  Thee  wrong,  my  God H.  Bonar 

I  feed  by  faith  on  Christ,  my.  .  .J.  Montgomery 

I  give  immortal  praise ....  /.    Watts 

I  have  a  home  above H.  Benneti 

I  hear  a  voice  that  comes  from  far. ...    T.  Kelly 

I  hear  the  words  of  love H.  Bonar 

I  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say H.  Bonar 

I  hold  the  sacred  hook  of  God E.  Osier 

I  know  no  life  divided  .  .   Tr.,/?.  Massie 

I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives,  And.  C.  Wesley 
I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives.      .    5.  Medley 

I  Lay  my  sins  on  Jesus H.  Bonar 

I  left  the  God  of  truth  and  light. _/.  Montgomery 
I  lift  my  soul  to  God.  ..../.  Watts 

I'll  praise  my  Maker  with  my  breath. ./.  Watts 
I'll  speak  the  honors  of  my  King  . ./.  Watts 
I  long  to  behold  Him  arrayed  ..  ..  C.  Wesley 
I  love  my  God,  but  with  no  love.  Mme.  Giiyon 
1  love  the  Lord,  He  heard  my  cries.../.  Watts 
I  love  the  Lord,  whose  gracious. .  .  T.  /fastings 

1  love  the  sacred  book  of  God 7'.  Kelly 

I  love  the  volumes  of  Thy  word /.  Watts 


I  love  Thy  Kingdom,  Lord! T.  Diuight 

I  love  to  see  the  Lord  below /.  Watti 

I  love  to  steal  awhile  away.  Mrs.  P.  H.  Brown 

I'm  but  a  stranger  here T.  R.  Taylor 

I'm  not  ashamed  to  own  my  Lord /.  Watts 

I  once  was  a  stranger  to  grace.  R.  M.  McCheyne 

I  saw  One  hanging  on  a  tree J.  Newton 

I  say  to  all  men,  far.  .Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkworth 

I  see  the  crowd  in  Pilate's  hall H.  Bonar 

I  send  the  joys  of  earth  away  /.  Watts 

I  sing  th'  almighty  power  of  God /.  Watts 

I  stand  on  Zion's  mount  . . .J.  Swain 

I  thank  Thee,  uncreated  Son .J.  Scheffler 

I  thirst,  but  not  as  once  I  did. ...      W.  Cowper 

I  thirst.  Thou  wounded N.  L.  Zinzendor/ 

I've  found  a  joy  in  sorrow.  ..Mrs. /.  Crewdson 
I've  found  the  pearl  of  greatest  price. .y.  Mason 

I  waited  patient  for  the  Lord /.  Watts 

I  want  a  heart  to  pray C.  Wesley 

I  want  a  principle  within   C.  Wesley 

I  was  a  wandering  sheep H.  Bonar 

I  will  love  Thee,  all. .  .Tr.,  Miss  J.  Borthivick 

I  will  praise  Thee  every  day W.  Cowjier 

I  will  sing  my  Maker's  praises 

R.  Gerhard.,  Tr.,  R.  Massie 

I  worship  Thee,  sweet  will F.  W.  Faber 

I  would  be  Thine,  O  take  my  heart A.  Reed 

I  would  love  Thee,  God  and   Mjne.  Guyon 

I  would  not  live  alway  .  W.  A.  Muhlenberg 
If  Christ  is  mine,  then  all  is  mine.  .5.  Beddome 

If  God  himself  be  for  me P.  Gerhard 

If  God  is  mine,  then  present  things..^.  Beddome 

If  human  kindness  meets  return G.  T.  Noel 

If  I  must  die,  oh,  let  me  die B.  Beddome 

If  Jesus  be  my  friend. .Tr.,  3Iiss  C.  Winkworth 
If  life  in  sorrow  must  be  spent.  ...Mme.  Guyon 

If  on  a  quiet  sea A.  M.  Toplady 

If  on  our  daily  course  our  mind J.  Keble 

If  there  be,  that  skills  to  reckon...  .J.  M.  Neale 

If  Thou  impart  Thyself  to  me C.  Wesley 

If  through  unruflled  seas.  ..... .A.  M.  Toplady 

In  all  my  Lord's  appointed  ways. . .  .J.  Ryland 

In  all  my  vast  concerns  with  Thee. .  . ./.  Watts 

In  all  things  like  Thy  brethren J.  Anstice 

In  deep  distress  lo  God  I  cried E.  Osier 

In  duty  and  in  suffering  too B.  Beddome 

In  evil  long  I  took  delight J.  Newton 

In  expectation  sweet J.  Swain 

In  His  temple  now  behold  Him . ..  J.  Scheffler 

In  loud  exalted  strains . .  B.  Francis 

In  love,  the  Father's  sinless  child. ...//.  Bonar 
In  memory  of  the  Saviour's  love...  J.  Cotterill 

In  our  common  celebration /.  M.  Neale 

In  prayer  together  let  us  fall J.  M.  Neale 

In  robes  of  judgment,  lo  !  he  comes. ../.  Watts 

In  stature  grows  the Santolius  Victorinus 

In  sweet  exalted  strains B.  Francis 

In  the  Christian's  home  in  glory...?.  Y,  Harmer 
In  the  cross  of  Christ  I  glory. .  .   .    J.  Bowring 

In  the  hour  of  trial   J.  Montgomery 

In  the  morning  hear  my  voice. ._/.  Montgomery 
In  the  name  ot  God,  the  Father..y.  W.  Hemett 

In  the  silent  midnight  watches A.  C.  Coxe 

In  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars R.  Heber 

In  the  waste  howling  wilderness J.  Keble 

In  Thee  I  put  my  steadfast.  .  Tate  and  Brady 
In  Thine  image  Thou  didst  make  .J.  Scheffler 
In  this  calm,  impressive  hour  . .  .7".  Hastings 
In  this  world  of  sin  and  sorrow. Mrs.  J.  Madan 
In  Thy  glorious  resurrection  . .  .€.  Wordsworth 
In  Thy  great  name,  O  Lord  !  we. . .  .J.  Hoskins 
In  Thy  name,  O  Lord  !  assembling. . .  T.  Kelly 
In  time  of  fear,  when  trouble's. ...  7".  Hastings 

In  time  of  tribulation /.  Montgomery 

In  true  and  patient  hope C.  Wesley 

In  vain  my  fancy  strives  to  paint J.  Newton 

In  vain  my  roving  thoughts Miss  A.  Steele 

In  vain  the  world's  alluring Miss  A,  Steele 

In  vain  we  seek  for  peace  with  God.. ,/.  Waits 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


707 


Incarnate  God  !  the  soul  that J.  Newton 

Indulgent  Sovereign  of  the  skies./".  Doddridge 

Infinite  excellence  is  Thine     J.  Fauucett 

Inquire,  ye  pilgrims  !  for  the  way./'.  Doddridge 
Inscribed  upon  the  cross  we  see  . .  .T.  Kelly 
Inspirer  and  hearer  of  prayer  !..^.  M.  Toplady 

Inspirer  of  the  ancient  seers  !  C.  IVesley 

Interval  of  grateful  shade P.  Doddridge 

Is  there  a  mourner  true  ?    .J.  Keble 

Is  there  ambition  in  my  heart /.  Watts 

Is  this  the  kind  return /.  Watts 

Isles  of  the  deep,  rejoice  !  rejoice  \. .  .E.  Denny 
It  came  upon  the  midnight  clear.. /T.  H.  Sears 
It  is  my  sweetest  comfort,  Lord. . .  .£.  Caswall 

It  is  not  death  to  die G.  W.  Bet  hum 

It  is  Thy  hand,  my  God  !   .J.  G.  Deck 

Jehovah  hath  spoken  !  the  nations  . .  E.  Osier 
Jehovah  reigns,  He  dwells  in  light..../.  Watts 

Jehovah  reigns.  His  throne  is  high /.  Watts 

Jerusalem  !  Jerusalem  !  R.  Heber 

Jerusalem,  the  glorious Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 

Jerusalem,  the  golden Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 

Jesu,  as  though  Thyself  wert..Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

Jesu,  behold  the  wise  from  far y.  Austin 

Jesu,  Creator  of  the  world  ...Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

Jesu,  meek  and  lowly H.  Collins 

Jesu,  redeemer  of  the  world  ....£.  Caswall 
Jesu,  the  virgin's  crown 

Ambrose  (?),  Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 
Jesu,  who  broughtest  redemption. .y.  M.  Neale 
Jesu,  who  from  Thy  father's  throne. J'.  Anstice 

Jesus  !  all-atoning  Lamb   C.  Wesley 

Jesus,  all  hail,  who  for  my  sin  .../".  W.  Faber 
Jesus,  and  didst  Thou  leave  \.V^.Misi  A.  Steele 

Jesus  !  and  shall  it  ever  be  J.  Grigg 

Jesus,  at  whose  supreme  command.  C.  Wesley 
Jesus,  be  near  us  when  we. . .  .Tr.,  E.  Caswall 
Jesus,  blessed  mediator     y.  Conder 

iesus  calls  us  o'er  the.  ..Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander 
esus,  cast  a  look  on  me  y .  Berridge 
esus  Christ,  my  Lord  and Miss  F,  Taylor 
esus  comes.  His  conflict  over T.  Kelly 

Jesus,  delightful,  charming  name.. .5.  Beddome 
Jesus  demands  the  voice  of  joy  W.  Gonde 

Jesus  demands  ihis  heart  of. . .   .Miss  A.  Steele 

Jesus!  engrave  it  on  my  heart S.  MedUy 

Jesus,  exalted  far  on  high T.  Cotte-'ill 

Jesus,  full  of  all  compassion  ! D.  Turner 

Jesus,  full  of  love  divine     B.  Gough 

Jesus  !  grant  me  this,  I  pray H.  W.  Baker 

Jesus  !  guide  our  way N.  L.  Zinzendor/ 

Jesus  !  hail !  enthroned  in  glory. . .  y.  Bakewell 
Jesus  !  how  much  Thy  name.j1/r.r.  M.  R.  Peters 

Jesus  !  how  sweet  Thy y.  W.  Alexander 

Jesus  !  I  come  to  Thee N.  S.  S.  Bentan 

Jesus!  I  live  to  Thee   H.  Harbaugk 

Jesus  !  I  love  Thee  evermore.  ..E.  C.  Benedict 
Jesus!  I  love  Thy  charming  .  .P.  Doddridge 
Jesus  !  I  my  cross  have  taken. ...  H.  F.  Lyte 
Jesus  !  immortal  King  ! .   . . .  .A.C.H.  Seymour 

Jesus,  in  Thy  transporting Miss  A  .  Steele 

Jesus  invites  His  saints /.  Watts 

Jesus  is  God  !  the  glorious  bands../".  W.  Faber 

Jesus  is  gone  above  the  skies /.  Watts 

Jesus  is  the  name  we  treasure. Tr  ,  y.  M.  Neale 
Jesus  !  Jesus  !  come  and  save  us. A'.  Bateman 
Jesus!  Jesus!  visit  me        .. .  .Tr.,  R.  P.  Dunn 

Jesus!  Lamb  of  God!  forme R.  Palmer 

lesiis  !  let  Thy  pitying  eye C.  Wesley 

Jesus,  Lord  of  Life  eternal. ,  .Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 
esus.  Lord,  Thy  servants  see 

B.  Schtnolke.  Tr.,  Miss  F.  E.  Cox 
Jesus  lives  !  no  longer  now 

C.  F.  Gellert,  Tr.,  Miss  F.  E.  Cox 

Jesus,  Lord  !  we  look  to  Thee C.  Wesley 

Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul  !   C.  Wesley 

Jesus,  Master  of  the  feast C.  Wesley 

Jesus  !  merciful  and  mild   T.  Hastings 

Jesus,  mighty  King  in  Zion y.  Fellows 


Jesus,  my  All,  to  heaven  is  gone.  .   y.  Cennick 

Jesus,  my  great  high  priest   /.  Watts 

Jesus!  my  heart  within  me  burns.../?.  Palmer 

Jesus,  my  Lord,  attend   C.  Wesley 

Jesus,  my  Lord  !  how  rich  Thy../'.  Doddridge 
Jesus,  my  Lord,  my  chief  Delight. .i>.  Beddome 
Jesus,  my  Lord,  my  God,  my  All !..//.  Collins 
Jesus,  my  Saviour  f  bind  me  fast.  ...5.  Beddome 
Jesus,  my  Saviour,  let  me  be  ..B.  Beddome 
Jesus,  my  sorrow  lies  too  deep  .  ..H.  Bonar 
Jesus,  my  Strength,  my  Hope  !   ..    ..C.  Wesley 

Jesus,  my  truth,  my  way  !   C  Wesley 

Jesus,  name  all  names  above.. Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 
Jesus,  name  of  priceless  worth  ...  W.  W.  Now 
Jesus  !  name  of  wondrous  love. ...  W.  W.  How 

Jesus,  once  for  sinners  slain y.  Hart 

Jesus,  our  best  beloved y.  Montgomery 

Jesus,  our  Lord!  ascend  Thy  throne../.  Watts 

Jesus,  our  hope,  our Tr.,  y.  Chandler  (a) 

Jesus,  our  Lord  !  how  rich  Thy  .P.  Doddridge 

Jesus  !  refuge  of  Thy  people .   E.  Osier 

Jesus,  save  my  dying  soul /.  Hastings 

Jesus,  seek  Thy  wandering  sheep.   . .  C  Wesley 

Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun /  Watts 

Jesus,  spotless  Lamb  of  God y.  G.  Deck 

Jesus  spreads  His  banner  o'er  us  . .  .  .R.  Park 
Jesus  !  still  lead  on 

N.  L.  Zinzendor/,  Tr.,  Miss  y.  Borthwick 
Jesus,  Sun  ofrighteousness.C  K.Von  Rosenroth 

Jesus,  the  Christ  of  God H.  Bonar 

Jesus,  the  conqueror,  reigns C  Wesley 

Jesus,  the  name  high  over  all   C.  Wesley 

Jesus  !  the  Shepherd  of  the  sheep  . . .  /.  Kelly 
Jesus,  the  sinner's  Friend  !  to  thee..C  Wesley 
Jesus,  the  sinner's  rest  Thou  art. ^.  M.  Toplady 
Jesus,  the  spring  of  joys  divine..  J/?>.f  A.  Steele 

Jesus  !  the  very  thought  of Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

Jesus  !  the  very  thought  is  sweet 

Bernard  de  Clairvaux,  Tr.,  y.  M.  Nealt 

Jesus  !  the  word  of  mercy  give C.  Wesley 

Jesus  !  these  eyes  have  never  feen..A'.  Palmer 
Jesus,  Thou  art  my  righteousness.  ...C.  Wesley 
Jesus  !  Thou  art  the  .-.inner's         .R.  Burnham 

Jesus,  Thou  everlasting  King  !   /.  Watts 

Jesus,  Thou  Joy  of  loving  hearts!..  7?.  Palmer 

Jesus,  Thou  source  divine Miss  A.  Steele 

Jesus,  Thou  source  of  calm  repose.. .C  Wesley 
Jesus!  Thy  blessings  are  noti»few.   . .   /.  Watts 

Jesus  !  Thy  blood  and   Tr.,  y.  Wesley 

Jesus  !  Thy  boundless  love  to  me 

P.  Gerhard.  Tr.,  y.  Wesley 

Jesus  !  Thy  church,  with W.  H.  Bathurst 

Jesus,  Thy  mercies  are  untold 

Bernard  de  Clairvaux,  Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 

Jesus  !  Thy  name  I  love     y.  G.  Deck 

Jesus,  Thy  robe  of N.  L.  ZinzendorJ 

Jesus,  transporting  sound C   Wesley 

Jesus  !  we  bow  before  Thy N.  S.  S.  Beman 

Jesus  !  we  look  to  Thee .  -   C.  Wesley 

Jesus  !  we  thus  obey     C.  Wesley 

Jesus  wept,  those  tears  are  over E.  Denny 

Jesus  !  where'er  Thy  people  meet..W^.  Cowper 

Jesus,  while  He  dwelt  below  y.  Hart 

Jesus,  while  our  hearts  are T.  Hastings 

Jesus  !  who  died  a  world  to  save..  W.  Hatnmond 

Jesus  !  who  knows  full  well y.  Newton 

Jesus,  who  on  His  glorious  throne.,  y.  Newton 

Jesus,  whom  angel  hosts  adore H.  Bonar 

Jesus  !  with  all  Thy  saints  above /.  Watts 

Join  all  the  glorious  names /.  Watts 

Joy  to  the  world,  the  Lord  is  come. . ./.   Watts 

Joyful  be  the  hours  to-day T.  Kelly 

Judge  me,  O  Lord  !  and  prove   /.  Watts 

Just  are  Thy  ways  and  true  Thy  worth.  /.  Watts 
Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea..jW/«  C.  Elliott 
Just  as  Thou  art,  without  one  trace.  R.  S.  Cook 

Keep  silence,  all  created  things  !   /.  Watts 

Keep  us.  Lord,  oh  keep  us  ever T.  Kelly 

Kindred  in  Christ  !  for  His  dear y.  Newton 


708 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


King  of  kings  !  and  wilt. . .  IV.  A.  Muhlenberg 
Kingdoms  and  thrones  to  God  belong../.  Watts 
Know,  my  soul,  thy  full  salvation..   H.  F.  Lyte 

Lab'rers  of  Christ  ! Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigoumey 

Laboring  and  heavy  laden     .    y.  .S.  B.  Movsell 

Laden  with  guilt  and  full  of  fears /.  Watts 

Lamb  of  l^od.  Thou  now  art  seated.  .J.  G.  Deck 
Lamb  of  God,  whose  bleeding  love.  ..C  Wesley 
Lands  long  benighted  !  the.  .  C.  S.  Robinson 
Lead,  kindly  Light,  amid  l\>.^..J.H.  Newman 

Lead  on.  Almighty  Lord T.  Kelly 

Lead  us,  heavenly  Father  !  lead...y.  Edmeston 

Let  all  on  earth  with  song  rejoice R.  Mant 

Leaning  on  'I'hee,  my  guide. .  .Miss  C.  Elliott 

Let  all  the  earth  their  voices  raise /.  Watts 

Let  all  the  heathen  writers  join.  ../.  Watts 

Let  all  the  just,  to  God  with.,  fate  and  Brady 
Let  children  hear  the  mighty  deeds.  . ./.  ll'atts 

Let  everlasting  glories  crown /.  Watts 

Let  every  creature  join /.  Watts 

Let  every  heart  exulting.  .Tr.,  J.  D.  Chambers 

Let  every  mortal  ear  attend /.  Watts 

Let  every  tongue  Thy  goodness  speak../.  Watts 

Let  God.  the  Father,  live /.  Watts 

Let  God,  with  awful  pomp,  arise K.  Osier 

Let  me  be  with  Thee,  where.. .  .Miss  C.  Elliott 

Let  me  but  hear  my  Saviour  say /.  Watts 

Let  me  go,  the  day  is  breaking.^.  Montgomery 
Let  others  boast  how  strong  they  be. ./.  Watts 

Let  party  names  no  more B.  Beudojne 

Let  plenteous  grace  de.scend  on y.  Newton 

Let  saints  on  earth  in  concert  sing... .  C.  Wesley 
Let  saints  on  earth  their  anthems  .  ..y.  Evatis 

Let  sinners  take  their  course /.  Watts 

Let  songs  of  praises  fill  the  sky  . .  T.  Cotterill 
Let  the  church  new  anthems.. Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 
Let  the  land  mourn  through,  y.  Montgomery 
Let  the  world  their  virtue  boast..  C.  Wesley 
Let  them  neglect  Thy  glory.  Lord  !.../.  Watts 

Let  us  awake  our  joys W.  Kingsbury 

Let  us  love,  and  sing,  and  wonder. .  .y.  i\ewton 

Let  us  sing  with  one Miss  D.  A .  Thru/>J> 

Let  us  with  a  gladsome  mind y.  Miltoti 

Let  worldly  minds  the  world      y.  Newton 

Let  Zion  and  her  sons  rejoice /.  Watts 

Let  Zion's  watchmen  all  awake.  .P.  Doddridge 
Life  is  a  span,  a  fleeting  hour.  . .  .Miss A.  Steele 
Life  of  the  world.  I  hail  Thee.  Tr.,  R.  Palmer 
Life  is  the  time  to  serve  the  Lord.  .  /.  Watts 
Lift,  my  soul,  thy  voice   ....  ..Tr.,  W.  Mercer 

Lift  up  to  e.od  the  voice  of R.  Watdlaw 

Lift  your  eyes  of  faith,  and  see C.  Wesley 

Lift  up  your  heads,  eternal.  . .  Tate  and  Brady 
Lift  your  heads,  ye  friends  of  Jesus . .  C.  Wesley 

Lift  up  your  heads Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkworth 

Light  of  life,  seraphic  Fire  ! C.  Wesley 

Light  of  light  ! Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkworth 

Light  of  the  anxious  heart y.  H.  Neivman 

Light  of  the  lonely  pilgrim's  heart  E.  Denny 
Light  of  the  soul,  O  Saviour  blest  E.  Caswall 
Light  of  the  world,  shine  on  . .    .E.  Bickersteth 

Light  of  those  whose  dreary C.  Wesley 

Light's  glittering  morn  bedecks  the  sky 

Ambrose^  Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 
Like  morning,  when  her  early  breeze.  T.  Moore 
Like  Noah's  weary  dove...W^.   A.  Muhlenberg 

Like  sheep  we  went  astray   /.  Watts 

Like  the  eagle,  upward,  onward H.  Bonar 

Listen,  sinner  1  mercy  hails  you A.  Reed 

Little  traveler  Zionward y.  Edmeston 

Lo  !  from  the  desert  homes   .C.  Coffin 

Lo  !  God  is  here,  let  us  adore 

G.  Tersteegen,  Tr.,  C.  IVesley 
Lo  !  God,  our  God,  has  come   ...      .   H.  Bonar 

Lo  !  He  comes,  let  all  adore  Him T.  Kelly 

Lo  !  he  comes,  with  clouds. .  Cennick  &"  IVesley 

1  ,o  !  he  Cometh,  countless y.  Cenfiick 

Lo,  I  behold  the  scattering  shades  /.  //  'atts 
Lo  !  now  is  our  accepted  day.  .Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 


Lo  !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land C.  Wesley 

Lo  !  the  mighty  God  appearing W.  Goode 

Lo,  the  prisoner  is  released C.  Wesley 

Lo  !  unto  us  a  child  is  born y.  Morrison  (a) 

Lo  !  what  a  glorious  corner-stone /.  Watts 

Lo  !  what  a  glorious  sight  appears /.  Watts 

Lo  !  what  an  entertaining  sight /.   Watts 

Lo  !  where  the  words  of  wisdom  shine. .£.  Osier 
Long  as  I  live,  I'll  bless  Thy  name.. .  /.  Watts 
Long  have  I  sat  beneath  the  sound  . ./.  Watts 
Long  plunged  in  sorrow,  I  resign.. A/tk^.  Guyon 
Look  down,  O  Lord  !  and  in  our. . .  7".  Cotterill 

Look  down,  O  Lord  !  with P.  Doddridge 

Look  from  Thy  sphere  of  endless.  f^K.  C.  Bryant 

Look  up,  my  soul  !  with Miss  A .  Steele 

Look,  ye  saints  !  the  sight  is  glorious. .  T.  Kelly 
Lord,  all  I  am  is  known  to  Thee. .  /.  Watts 
Lord  !  as  to  Thy  dear  cross  we.     y.  H.  Gurney 

Lord  I  at  this  closing  hour E.  T.  Fitch 

Lord,  at  Thy  feet  we  sinners  lie  . .  5.  Browne 

Lord,  at  Thy  table  we  behold y.  Stennett 

Loid,  bid  Thy  light  arise W.  H.  Bathurst 

Lord  !  dismiss  us  with  i  hy  blessing.  W.  Shirley 
Lord  !  for  ever  at  1  hy  side.  . .  y.  Montgomery 
Lord,  for  the  just  Thou  dost  provide. y.  Addison 

Lord  God  of  my  salvation H.  F.  Lyte 

Lord  God,  the  Holy  Ghost y.  Montgomery 

Lord  God,  we  worship  Thee 

y.  Franks  Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkworth 
Lord,  have  mercy,  and  remove..//.  H.  Milman 

Lord,  have  mercy,  when  we H.  H.  Milman 

Lord,  how  mysterious  are  Thy  . .  Miss  A .  Steele 
Lord  !  how  secure  and  blessed  are. .../.  Watts 
Lord  !  how  secure  my  conscience  was../.  Watts 
Lord,  how  shall  sinners  dare ....  Miss  A  .  Steele 
Lord,  how  the  troublers  of  my  peace. //.  F.  Lyte 
Lord,  I  address  Thy  heavenly  throne../.  Watts 
Lord,  I  am  come.  Thy  promise  is  ...  y.  Newton 
Lord  !  1  am  Thine,  entirely  Thine. .  ..S.  Davies 

Lord  !  I  am  vile,  conceived  in  sin /.  Watts 

Lord,  I  approach  the  mercy  seat y.  Newton 

Lord  !  I  cannot  let  Thee  go y.  Newton 

Lord,  I  delight  in  Thee y.  Ryland 

Lord  !  I  have  made  Thy  word  my. . . ./.  Watts 
Lord,  I  have  sinned,  but  O  forgive. .//.  F.  Lyte 

Lord  !  I  hear  of  showers  of Miss  E.  Codner 

Lord,  I  look  for  all  to  Thee ti.  F.  Lyte 

Lord  !  I  will  bless  Thee  all  my  days. ./.  Watts 

Lord,  if  at  Thy  command C.  Wesley 

Lord,  if  Thou  Thy  grace  impart C.  Wesley 

Lord,  in  the  desert  bleak  and  bare.  y.  Anstice 
Lord  !  in  the  morning  Thou  shall  hear./.  Watts 

Lord  !  in  this  sacred  hour S.G.  Bulfinch 

Lord,  in  Thy  great,  Thy Miss  A.  Steele  (a) 

Lord,  in  Thy  name,  Thy  servants y.  Keble 

Lord  !  It  belongs  not  to  my  cat  e  .../?.  Baxter 

Lord,  it  is  not  life  to  live A.  M.  Toplady 

Lord  Jesus  !  are  we  one  with  Thee..^.  G.  Deck 

Lord  Jesus,  God  and  man   H.  W.  Baker 

Lord  Jesus,  when  I  think y.  G.  Deck 

Lord  Jesus,  when  we  stand  afar W.  W.  Hovu 

Lord  Jesus,  why,  why  dost  Thou.y.  A  nstice  (a) 
Lord  !  lead  the  way  the  Saviour. . .  W,  Croswell 
Lord,  let  me  know  mine  end.  .y.  Montgomery 
Lord,  like  the  publican  I  stand        ...  7'.  Raffles 

Lord,  look  on  all  assembled  here y.  Hart 

Lord,  may  the  inward  grace  abound..  .E.  Osier 
Lord,  may  the  spirit  oi.Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigoumey 
Lord,  may  we  feel  no  anxious  care./?.  Baxter  (a) 
Lord,  my  weak  thought  in  vain.  . .  ./?.  Palmer 
Lord,  now  we  part  in  Thy  blest  name./?.  Heber 
Lord  of  all  being,  throned  afar..(^.  W.  Hohnes 

Lord  of  all  power  and  might   H .  Stowell 

Lord  of  all  worlds  !  incline  Thy T.  Dwight 

Lord  of  earth  !  Thy  forming  hand..  ..R.  Grant 

Lord  of  eternal  purity Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

Lord  of  every  land  and  nation /?.  Robinson 

Lord  of  hosts  !  how  bright,  how  fair../?.  Turner 
Lord  of  Hosts,  to  Thee  we  raise,  y.  Montgomery 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


709 


Lord  of  imme-^sity  sublime Gregory  I. 

Lord  of'life,  Prophetic   spirit y.  Keble 

Lord  of  mercy  and  of  might   K.  Heber 

Lord  of  my  life  !  Oh  may  Thy.  .Miss  A  .  Steele 
Lord  of  our  hearts  !  beloved  of  Thee.  f.  Denny 
Lord  of  the  Church,  we  humbly  pray. .  E.  Osier 
Lord  of  the  harvest,  bend  Thine...  f.  Hastings 

Lord  of  the  harvest  !  hear C.  Wesley 

Lord,  on  whose  bounty  we  depend         E.  Osier 

Lord  of  the  harvest,  once  again y.  Ansiice 

Lord  of  the  harvest  !  Thee  we.  ..y.  H.  Gurtiey 
Lord  of  the  living  harvest     .   y.  S.  B.  Monsell 

Lord  of  the  lofty  andthelow T.  ]V.  Aveling 

Lord  of  the  Sabbath  !  hear  our  .  .P.  Doddridge 

Lord  of  the  worlds  above  ! /.  iVatts 

Lord  of  the  world's  majestic  frame. ..  T.  yerzns 
Lord,  pour  Thy  Spirit  from  on  .  /.  Mo7itgomery 
Lord  !  send  Thy  word  and  let  it  . . .  T.  Gibiwns 
Lord,  shed  a  beam  of  heavenly  day  .  y.  Hart 
Lord  !  lake  my  heart  and  let. .  .  .Tr.,  y.  Wesley 

Lord  !  teach  us  how  to  pray y.  Montgomery 

Lord,  that  I  may  learn  of  Thee E.  Osier 

Lord,  Thou  art  my  rock  of  strength 

1  r..  Miss  C.  IVink-wortk 
Lord  !  Thou  hast  called  Thy  grace  to./.  Watts 

Lord  !  Thou  hist  .scourged  our. y.  Rarlow 

Lord  !  Thou  hast  searched  and  seen  . .  /.  Watts 
Lord,  Thou  hast  taught  our  hearts.. j"?.  Palmer 
Lord  !  Ihou  hast  won  at  length,  \..y.  Nezuton 
Lord,  Thou  on  earth  didst  love.         R.  Paltner 

Lord!  Thou  wilt  bring  the  joyful R.  Palmer 

Lord  !  Thou  wilt  hear  me  when  I /.  Watts 

Lord,  i  hy  children  guide  and W.  W.  Hau 

Lord,  Thy  Church  hath  seen  'Y'\\e.e. . .  .W .  Goode 

Lord  !  Thy  glory  fills  the  heaven R.  Mant 

Lord,  Thy  word  abideth H.  W.  Baker 

Lord  I  't  is  an  infinite  delight /.  Watts 

Lord  !  't  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  stand. ./.  Watts 
Lord,  we  .idore  Thy  boundless.  .y)//.fj  ^.  Steele 

Lord  I  we  adore  Thy  vast  designs /.  Watts 

Lord,  we  are  vile,  conceived  in  sin         /.  Watti 
Lord  I  we  come  before  Thee     .  W.  Hammond 
Lord  !  we  confess  our  numerous  /.   Watts 

Lord  !  we  raise  our  cry  to  Thee..//.  H.  Milman 
Lord  I  what  a  feeble  piece    ...  ..../.   Watts 

Lord  !  what  a  heaven  of  saving  grace./.  Watts 
Lord  !  what  a  wretched  land  is  this... ./.  Watts 

Lord  !  "hat  avails  our  srife C.  Wesley 

Lord  !  what  Thy  providence   . .  .Miss  A.  Steele 

Lord  I  when  I  ail  things  would T.  H.  Gill 

Lord  I  when  I  quit  this  earthly  stage../.  Watts 

Lord  !  when  my  raptured    Miss  A.  Steele 

Lord  !  when  Thine  Israel  we     ..P.  Doddridge 

Lord  !  when  this  holy     C.  Heginbothom 

Lord  I  when  Thou  didst  ascend  on...  ./.  Watts 
Lord  !  when  we  bend  before  Thj'.y.  D.  Carlyle 
Lord  !  when  we  creation  scan. ..  y.  D.  Carlyle 

Lord  I  where  shall  guilty  ^ouls /.  Watts 

Lord  !  with  glowing  heart  I'll  praise.. /\  5.  Key 

Loud  hallelujahs  to  the  Lord /.  Watts 

Love  divine,  all  loves  excelling   C.  Wesley 

Loving  shepherd  of  Thy. ..  Miss  J.  E,  Leeson 
Lowly  and  solemn  be  .  .  ..Mrs.  h'.  D.  Hemans 
Majestic  sweetness  sits  enthroned.  ..S".  Stennett 

Make  haste,  O  man,  to  live         H.  Bonar 

Make  us  by  Thy  transforming.  .yl/Zij  .<4.  Steele 
Maker  of  all  things,  God  .Tr.,J.  D.  Chambers 
Maker  of  all  things,  mightj'  Lord 

E.  Osier,  from  P.  Doddridge 
Maker  of  earth,  to  Thee  alone. Tr.,  y,  M.  Neale 

Man's  wisdom  is  to  seek     W.  Coivper 

Many  centuries  have  fled.    y.  Conder 

Many  woes  had  Christ  endured y.  Hart 

Marked  as  the  purpo'^e  of  the  skies.. C  T,  Noel 

Mary  to  the  Saviour's  tomb J.  Ne'cvton 

May  not  the  sovereign  Lord  on  high../.  Watts 
May  the  grace  of  Christ,  our  Saviour .y.  Nezuto?i 

May  we  Thy  precepts.  Lord   E.  Osier 

Meekly  in  Jordan's  holy  stream..  .S.  F,  Smith 


\  Meet  and  right  it  is  to  sing C.  Wesley 

'  Memory  of  the  blest  departed..  .^.  T.  Gurney 

Men  of  God,  go  take  your  stations T.  Kelly 

Mercy,  O  thou  Son  of  David  !   . .   ..  .J.  Newton 

Messiah,  at  Thy  glad  approach M.  Bruce 

Mid  evening  shadows  let  us  all  be  watching 

Gre.gory,  1  r.,  /f.  Palmer 
Mighty  God  !  while  angels  bless.../?.  Robinson 
Mighty  One,  before  whose  face..H^.  C.  Bryant 

Millions  within  Thy  courts y.  Montgomery 

Mine  hour  appointed  is  at  hand 

N.  Hermann,  Tr.,  R.  Massie 
Mistaken  souls  !  that  dieam  of  heaven./.  Watts 

Mine  eyes  and  my  desire         I.  Watts 

More  love  to  Thee   . .   Mrs.  E.  P.  Prentiss 

Morning  breaks  upon   the  tomb./F.  B.  Cotlyer 

Mortals,  awake!  with  angels  join ,?.  Medley 

Most  ancient  of  all  mysteries F.  11-'.  Faber 

Most  high  and  holy  trinity.Tr.,y)/2>.r  F.  E.  Cox 

M uch  in  sorrow,  oft  in  woe H.  K.  II  kite 

.Music  !  bring  thy  sweetest .J.  Edmeston 

My  blessed  Saviour,  is  Thy  love. .   y.  Stennett 

My  country  !  'tis  of  thee   S.  F.  Smith 

My  days  are  gliding  swiftly  by   .  .    ..D.  Nelson 

My  dear  Redeemer  and  my  Lord  I /.  Watts 

My  drowsy  powers  I  why  sleep  ye  so. ./.  Watts 

My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee R.  Palmer 

My  Father,  God  !  how  sweet  the./".  Doddridge 

My  former  hopes  are  fled W.  Co-wper 

My  God  !  accept  my  early  vows   /.  Watts 

My  God  !  accept  my  heart  this  da^.i)/  Bridges 
My  God  and  Father!  while  L.Miss  C.  Elliott 

My  God  !  and  is  Thy  table P.  Doddridge 

My  God  !  how  endless  is  Thy  love ....  /.  II  atts 
My  God  !  how  wonderful  Thou.,  .i^.  W.  Faber 
My  God,  I  love  Thee,  not  because 

F.  Xavier,  Tr  ,  F.  Caswall 
My  God,  in  whom  are  all  the  springs./.  Watts 
My  God  !  is  any  hour  so  sweet..iiy/j'j  C.  Elliott 

My  God,  my  everlasting  hope /.  Watts 

My  God,  my  Father!  blissful..  .A/iss  A.  Steele 
My  God,  my  Father!  while  I.. Miss  C.  Elliott 
My  God,  my  King  !  thy  various  praise./.  Watts 
My  God,  my  Life,  my  Love !  . .  ..  7.  Watts 
My  God,  my  I'ortion,  and  my  Love!../.  Watts 

My  God,  my  reconciled  God y.  jlJason 

My  God  !  oh  !  could  I  make  the.3fiss  A .  Steele 
My  God  !  permit  me  not  to  be   .      ..  .   /,  IVatts 

My  God  !  permit  my  tongue /.  )/  aits 

My  God  !  the  covenant  of  Thy.  .P.  Doddridge 
-My  God  !  the  Spring  of  all  my  joys.../.  Watts 
My  God  !  Thy  boundless  love  I  pr^he.H. Moore 

My  God  !  Thy  service  well   P.  Doddridge 

My  God  !  't  is  to  Thy  mercy-seat. yl/zij^.  Steelt 
My  God,  what  monuments  I  see..  .//.  F.  Lyte 
My  gracious  lord!  I  own  Thy../".  Doddridge 

My  gracious  Redeemer  I  love B.  Francis 

My  head  is  low,  mj  heart  is  sad.y.  S.  B.  Monsell 
My  Helper.  God  !  I  bless  His  .../'.  Doddridge 
My  Jesus  !  as  Thou  wilt 

/>".  Schtnolke.  Tr.,  Missy.  Borthwick 
My  Lord  !  how  full  of  sweet  content. /K.  Coiuper 
My  Lord,  my  love,  was  crucified.  . .  y.  Mason 
My  Maker  and  my  King  !     . ,  .   .Miss  A.  Steele 

My  never-ceasing  song  shall  show /    Watts 

My  opening  eyes  with  rapture  see /.  Watts 

My  rest  is  in  heaven,  my  rest  is  not.//.  F.  Lyte 

My  Saviour  and  my  King     /.  Watts 

My  Saviour  hanging  on  the  tree. . .  .J.  Neiuton 

My  Saviour!  I  am  Thine P.Doddridge 

My  Saviour,  my  almighty  Friend  !..../.  Watts 
My  Saviour,  Thou  Thy  love  to  me. . '_'.  Wesley 
My  Saviour,  whom  absent  I  love...  W,  Coivper 

My  Shepherd  is  the  living  Lord /.  //  atts 

My  Shepherd  will  supply  my  need..../.  Watts 
My  sins,  my  sins,  my  .Saviour ._/.  5'.  B.  Monsell 

My  soul  !  be  on  thy  guard    G,  Heath 

My  soul !  come  meditate  the  day.  /.  Watti 
My  soul  complete  in  Jesua.Mrs.  G.  W.  Hinsdalt 


710 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord J.  Mason 

My  soul  forsakes  her  vain  delight /.  Watts 

My  soul  !  how  lovely  is  the  place.  . . .  I.  IVatts 

My  soul  lies  cleaving  to  the  dust /.  Watts 

My  soul  !  repeat  His  praise /.  IVatts 

My  soul,  triumphant  in  the  . .  ..P.  Doddridge 
My  soul  with  joy  attend   ....         P.  Doddridge 

My  spirit  longs  for  Thee  y.  Byrotn 

My  spirit  looks  to  God  alone /.  Watts 

My  spirit  on  thy  care . .  H.  F.  Lyte 

My  spirit  finks  within  rae,  Lord /.  Watts 

My  sufferings  all  to  Thee  are  known. C  Wesley 
My  thoughts  surmount  these  lower.     /.    Watts 

My  times  are  in  Thy  hand    W.  F.  Lloyd 

My  times  of  sorrow  and  of  joy B.  Beddoine 

My  trust  is  in  the  Lord         H.  F.  Lyte 

Naked  as  from  the  earth  we  came /.  Watts 

Aatuie  with  open  volume  stands  .../.  Watts 
Near  the  cross  was  Mary.  Tr.,_/.  W.  Alexander 
Nearer,  my  God  !  to  Thee..yJ/rJ.  6".  F.  Adams 

Nearer,  O  God,  to  Thee W.W.  H-ozv 

New  wonders  of  Thy  mighty  hand. . .  C.  Coffin 
New  every  morning  is  Thy  love  ..  .J.  Keble 
No  change  of  time  shall  ever.,  Tate  and  Brady 
No  more,  my  God  !  I  boast  no  more.  ./.  Watts 
No  more,  ye  wise  !  your  wisdom.  .P.  Doddridge 
No,  no,  it  is  not  dying.  Tr.,  R.  P.  Dunn 

No  purple  with  his  life-blood.  ...S.  Victorintis 
No  room  for  mirth  or  trifling  here. . . .  C  Wesley 

No  seas  again  shall  sever H.  Bonar 

No  track  is  on  the  sunny  sky F.  W.  Faber 

Nor  eye  has  seen,  nor  ear  has  heard../.  Watts 

Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts /.  Watts 

Not  all  the  outward  forms  on  earth.  . ,/.  Watts 
Not  by  the  martyr's  death. 5'a«2'y/2«j  Victorinus 
Not  for  the  dead  in  Christ. Afrj.  A.  L.  Barbaiild 
Not  here,  as  to  the  prophet's. .  y.  Montgomery 

Not  to  condemn  the  sons  of  men /.  Watts 

Not  to  the  terrors  of  the  Lord     /.  Watts 

Not  unto  us,  but  Thee,  O  Lord 

T.  Cotierill,  from  y.  Cennick 

Not  what  I  feel  or  do . .         H.  Bonar 

Not  what  I  am,  O  Lord,  but  what. .  .H.  Bonar 
Not  what  these  hands  have  done. ...//.  Bonar 

Not  with  our  mortal  eyes /.  Watts 

Not  worthy.  Lord  !  to  gather. ..£.  Bickersteth 

Not  yet,  ye  people  of  His  grace T.  H.  Gill 

Now  be  my  heart  inspired  to  sing.         /.  Watts 

Now  be  the  gospel  banner T.  Hastings 

Now  begin  the  heavenly  theme. .  AT.  Madan  (?) 
Now,  by  the  love  of  Christ,  my  God. ./.  Watts 
Now  Christ  gone  up  to  whence  he  .  Ambrose 
Now  doth  the  sun  ascend  the  sky 

Ambrose,  Tr.,  E.  Caswall 
Now  faintly  smile  day's  hasty. .  .Miss  A.  Steele 

Now  for  a  tune  of  lofty  praise /.  Watts 

Now,  from  labor  and  from  care.  . .  T.  Hastings 
Now,  from  the  altar  of  our  hearts   ...y.  Mason 

Now,  God,  be  with  us MissC.  Winkivortk 

Now,  gracious  Lord  !  thine  arm J.  Newton 

Now  I  have  found  a  Friend H.J.  M.  Hoj>e 

Now  I  know  the  great  Redeemer.A".  Burnham 
Now  I  resolve  with  all  my  .  .Miss  A.  Steele 
Now  in  song  of  grateful  praise. ...5.  Medley  (a) 
Now,  in  parting,  Father  !  bless  us..  .H.  Bonar 

Now  is  th'  accepted  time J.  Dobell 

Now  let  my  soul,  eternal   O.  Heginbotkojn 

Now  let  our  cheerful  eyes..  P.Doddridge 

Now  let  our  mournful  songs  record. .  ./.  Watts 
Now  let  our  mourning  hearts     .   P.  Doddridge 

Now  let  our  songs  arise W.  Goode 

Now  let  our  souls,  on  wings  sublime,  7".  Gibbons 

Now  let  our  voices  join P.  Doddridge 

Now  let  the  feeble  all  be  strong.  .P.  Doddridge 
Now  let  us  join  with  hearts  and.  .  J.  Newton 
Now  let  us  raise  our  cheerful  .  Miss  A .  Steele 
Now  let  your  notes  of  praise. .  .Miss  F.  E.  Cox  \ 
Now  may  He,  who  from  the  dead.  ..J.  Newton 
Now  may  the  gospel's  conquering T.  Kelly  \ 


Now  may  the  mighty  arm  a\»ake  T.  Kellf 

Now  may  the  spirit's  holy  fire. . .  .R.  Seagravt 
Now  morning  lifts  her  dewy. .  J  r.,_/.  Chandler 
Now,  my  soul,  thy  voice  upraising 

Santnlius  Maglorianus,  Tr.,  H.  W.  Baker 

Now,  O  God,  Thine  own  I  am C.  Wesley 

Now  shall  my  solemn  vows  be  paid. .  ./.  Wafts 
Now  thank  we  all,  our.  Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkwortk 
Now  that  the  sun  is  beaming  hr\^x. . .  A  mbrose 
Now  that  the  daylight  fills  the  sky..   Ambrose 

Now  to  the  Lord  a  noble  song  /.  Watts 

Now  to  the  Lord,  that  makes  us         ../.  Watts 

Now  to  the  power  of  God  supreme /.  Watts 

Now  to  Thy  sacred  house   T,  Dwight 

C)  blessed  day,  when  first  was.Tr.,  y.  Chandler 

O  blessed  Jesus,  Lamb  of  God y.  G.  Deck 

O  blessed  Saviour,  is  Thy  love.  .  J.  Stennett 
O  blessed  sun  !  whose  splendor. Tr.,  R.  Alassie 

O  bread,  to  pilgrims  given Tr.,  R.  Palmer 

O  cease,  my  wandering  . . .  W.  A.  Muhlenberg 
O  Chrisi,  our  Hope,  our  . .  ..Tr.,_/.  Chandler 
O  Christ,  our  King,  Creator. .  .Tr.,  R.  Pahner 
O  Christ  I  our  true  and.Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkwortk 
O  Christ,  Redeemer  of  our  race..//.  //'.  Baker 
O  Christ,  the  Lord  of  heaven  !  to...i?.  Palmer 

O  Christ,  uns£en  yet  truly  near E.  Osier  (a) 

O  Christ,  who  art  both  night.  .Tr.,  W.  Mercer 
O  Christ,  who  hast  prepared  a  place 

Santolius  Victorinus,  Tr.,  y.  Chandler 
O  Christ,  with  each  returning.Tr.,_/.  Chafidler 
O  come,  all  ye  faithful,  joyfuily.Tr.,  W.Mercer 
O  come  and  mourn  with  me.  ..F.  II'.  Faber  (a) 
O  come,  Creator  Spirit,  blest  ...  Gregory  I. 
O  come,  O  come,  Emmanuel 

Twelfth  Century,  Tr.,/.  M.  Neale 

O  come,  ye  sinners,  to  your  Lord C.  Wesley 

O  day  of  rest  and  gladness  ! C.  Wordsworth 

O  dreadful  glory,  that  doth  make..._/.  H.  Gill 
O  faith  !  thou  workest  miracles..  .F.  W.  Faber 

O  Father,  let  me  be W.  H.  Bathurst 

O  Father  of  long-sufiering  grace  J.  Keble 

O  Father,  Thou  who.Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkwortk 
O  Father,  though  the. .  .Mrs.  A.  L.  Barbauld 
O  fount  of  good  !  to  own  Thy. .  .P.  Doddridge 
O  Garden  of  Olives,  thou.  .Miss  M.  de  J'leury 
O  give  thanks  to  Him  who  made.. .  .y.  Conder 
O  God  !  beneath  Thy  guiding  hand../..  Bacon 
O  God,  by  whom  the  seed  is  given.,  .^v.  Heber 
O  God  !  creation's  secret  force 

Ambrose,'lx..y.  M.  Neale 
O  God  most  high,  the  soul  that.._/.  A'eivton  (a) 
O  God,  my  heart  is  fully  he^nt.  Tate  and  Brady 
O  God,  my  helper  ever  near  ...  .J.  Fawcett 
O  God,  my  inmost  soul  convert  . . . .  C.  Wesley 
O  God,  my  strength  and  fortitude.  T.  Sternhold 
O  God,  my  strength,  my  hope   .      ..C.  Wesley 

O  God  of  Abraham  !  hear T.  Hastings 

O  God  of  all  the  strength  and  power. .Ambrose 
O  God  of  Bethel !  by  whose  hand./".  Doddridge 

O  God  of  families,  we  own T,  Raffles 

O  God  of  hosts,  the  mighty  Lord  ! N.  Tate 

O  God  of  love,  O  King  of  peace..//.  W.  Baker 

O  God  of  mercy,  God  of  migh  t J.  Keble 

O  God  of  mercy!  hear  my  call  ..  /.  Watts 
O  God  of  truth,  O  Lord  of  might 

Ambrose,  Tr.,/.  M.  Neale 
O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past  ...  /.  Watts 
O  God,  our  Saviour  and  our  King.  ..S".  Browne 
O  God,  supreme,  in  rapt  amaze.y.  D.  Chambers 

O  God  that  madest  earth  and  sky R.  Heber 

O  God,  the  help  of  all  Thy  saints E.  Osier 

O  God,  the  Lord  of  time  and  place. .  .Ambrose 
O  God,  the  refuge  of  my  soul. .  .Miss  A.  Steele 

O  God,  the  Son  eternal,  Thy R.  Heber  (a) 

O  God  !  Thou  art  mv  God J.  Montgomery 

O  God,  Thy  power  is  wonderful../".  W.  Faber 
O  God,  Thy  soldiers'  crown  and  guard. y4  mbrost 
O  God,  Thy  sol    .1  >'  c;re.\t  reward 

Ambrose,  Tr.,/.  M.  NeaU 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


711 


O  God,  unseen,  yet  ever  near  I  E.  Osier 

O  God  !  we  praise  Thee,  and.  Tate  and  Brady 
O  God  who  gav'st  Thy  servant  grace./?.  Heber 
O  gracious  Father,  bend  Thine  tar. Gregory  I. 
O  gracious  God,  in  whom  I  \i\e.Miss  A.  Steele 
O  grant  me,  Lord,  myself  to  see  ..  ..£.  Osier 
O  hand  of  bounty,  largely  spread. . .  .K.  Heber 
O  happy  band  of  pilgrims  .  Tr.,y.  M.  Neale 
O  happy  saints  who  dwell  in  light.?'.  Berridge 

O  happy  soul  that  lives  on  high /.  Watts 

O  help  us.  Lord  !  each  hour  of..//.  //.  Mibnan 

O  help  us.  Lord  !  in  all  our  need E.  Osier 

O  Holy  Ghost,  Thou  fount  of..Tr.,  E.  Caswall 
O  holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  !..        J.  W.  Eastburn 

O  holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  !  Thou /.  Conder 

O  Holy  Lord,  content  to  dwell W.  IV.  How 

O  holy  Saviour,  Friend  unseen.  Afijj  C.  Elliott 

O  Holy  Spirit !  come  O.  Allen 

O  Holy  Spirit,  Fount  of Miss  J.  E.  Leeson 

O  Holy  Spirit,  Lord  of  grace 

C.  Coffin,  Tr.,y.  Chandler 

O  how  blest  the  congregation H.  F.  Lyte 

O  Israel  !  to  thy  tents  repair T.  Kelly 

O  Jesu,  God  and  Man F.  W.  Faber 

O  Jesu,  source  of  holiness.  ...Tr.,  R.  Mant  (a) 

O  Jesus,  bruised  and Mrs.  C,  F.  Alexander 

O  Jesus  Christ,  if  sin  there  be E.  Caswall 

O  Jesus,  full  of  grace  ! C.  Wesley 

O  Jesus  !  in  this  solemn  hour. .  ..W.  B.  Collyer 

O  Jesus,  Jesus,  dearest  Lord  ! F  W.  Faber 

O  Jesus  !  KinR  most Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

O  Jesus,  Lord  of  heavenly  Tr,,y.  Chandler 
O  Jesus,  Saviour  of  the  lost.^.  H.  Bickersteth 
O  Jesus  !  sweet  the  tears  I  shed ..../?.  Palmer 

O  Jesus,  Thou  art  standing //'.  W.  How 

O  Jesus  !  Thou  the  beauty  art.Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

O  King  of  angels! 1  r.,  /.  D.  Chambers  (a) 

O  King  of  earth,  and  air,  and  sea R.  Heber 

O  Lamb  of  God  !  still  keep J.  G.  Deck 

O  Lord,  and  will  Thy  pardoning.  .  J.  Fellows 
O  Lord  !  another  day  is  flown.  ...H.  K.  White 

O  Lord  !  be  with  us  when  we D.  Nelson 

O  Lord,  defend  us  as  of  old W.  H.  Bathurst 

O  Lord  !  how  full  of  sweet Mme.  Guyon 

O  Lord  !  how  good,  hov^  great  art.  .H.  F.  Lyte 
O  Lord  !  how  happy  should  we  be. . ./.  ^  nstice 
O  Lord  !  how  infinite  Thy  love.  . .  H.  F.  Lyte 
O  Lord  !  how  joyful   t  is  to  see 

Santolius  I'ictorinus,  'i'r.,J.  Chandler 
O  Lord  !  I  would  delight  in  Thee. . ./.  RylancT 
O  Lord  !  in  sorrow  I  resign  .  Tr.,  W.  Cowper 
O  Lord  !  most  high  eternal  King 

Ambrose,  Tt..J.  M.  Neale 

O  Lord  !  my  best  desire  fulfill W.  Cowper 

O  Lord  !  my  Saviour  and  my  King.. 5.  Browne 
O  Lord  of  earth,  and  air,  and  sea.  .R.  Heber  (a) 
O  Lord  oi  heaven  and  earth... .C  Wordswotth 
O  Lord  of  hosts  !  whose  glory  fills.y.  M.  Neale 
O  Lord,  our  fathers  oft  have.  .  Tate  and  Brady 

O  Lord,  our  God  !  arise R.  Wardlaw 

O  Lord  !  our  heavenly  King /.  Watts 

O  Lord,  Thou  art  my  Lord B.  Beddome 

O  Lord,  Thy  Church  with . . .  W.  H.  Bathurst 
O  Lord  !  Thy  peifect  word  .  .  B.  Beddome 
O  Lord,  Thy  pitying  eye  surveys./'.  Doddridge 
O  Lord  !  Thy  work  revive.  .Mrs.  P.  H.  Brown 
O  Lord  !  we  now  the  path  retrace.  .J.  G.  Deck 

O  Lord,  who  by  Thy Tr.,  Massie 

O  Love,  beyond  the  reach  of  thought.y.  Conder 
O  Love,  divine  and  tender.  J.  S.  B.  Monsell 
O  Love  divine  !  how  sweet  Thou  art.C  Wesley 
O  Love  divine  !  that  stooped  to.O.  W.  Holmes 
O  Love  divine  !  what  hast  1  hou.  .  C.  Wesley 
O  Love  !  how  deep,  how  broad . . .  y.  M.  Neale 
O  Love  of  God,  how  strong  and  true.//.  Bonar 
O  Love,  who  formedst  me  to  wear.  .y.  Scheffler 

O  merciful  Creator,  hear  Gregory  I. 

O  most  merciful R.  Heber 

O  mother  dear,  Jerusalem  ! D.  Dickson 


O  my  God,  how  Thy  salvation  y.  5".  B.  Monsell 

O  my  soul  !  what  means  this J.  Fawcett 

O  one  with  God  the  Father How 

O  paradise  eternal  ! T.  Davis 

O  Paradise  !  O  Paradise  !     .  .         .F.  W.  Faber 

O  perfect  God  and  perfect  Man J.  Anstice 

O  perfect  life  of  love  //.  W.  Baker 

O  sacred  head,  now Tt.,J.  W.  Alexander 

O  sacred  head,  once  wounded..  . .  .P.  Gerhard 
O  sacred  head,  surrounded 

Bernard  de  Clairvaux,  Tr.,  H.  W.  Baker 

O  Saviour,  bless  us  ere  we  go F.  W.  Faber 

O  Saviour,  is  Thy  promise  fled R.  Heber 

O  Saviour,  lend      listening  ear.    ..T.Hastings 

O  Saviour  of  the  faithful  dead R.  Heber 

O  Saviour  !  who  for  man  hast  trod..  ..C.  Coffin 

O  Saviour,  whom  this  holy  morn R.  Heber 

O  sinner,  lift  the  eye  of  faith.. Tr.,y.  M.  Neale 

O  sinner,  why  so  thoughtless .J.  Rippon 

O  Sion,  open  wide  thy.  .  .Santolius  Victorinux 
O  Son  of  God,  in  glory.  Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander 
O  sons  and  daughters,  let  us.  Tr.,y.  M.  Neale 

O  Spirit  of  the  living  God  ! J.  Montgomery 

O  suffering  Friend  of  human  . .  .5".  G.  Bulfinch 
O  Sun  of  righteousness,  arise. .  P.  Doddridge 
O  Thou  above  all  praise  ■  ■  >/•  Montgomery 
O  Thou  almighty  source  of. . .  .Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

O  Thou,  by  long  experience  3lme.  Guyon 

O  Thou  essential   ...  i  r..  Miss  C.  IVinkwortfi 

O  Thou  everlasting  Father J.  Montgomery 

O  Thou,  from  whom  all  goodness. . .  T.  Haweis 

O  Thou  God  of  my  salvation   T.  Olivers 

O  Thou  God,  who  hearest  prayer  !..  .J.  Conder 
O  Thou  in  earth  and  heaven  adored.  E.  Osier 
O  Thou,  in  whose  presence  my  soul  J.  Swain 
O  Thou,  my  life,  my  light,  my.  J.  Montgomery 

O  Thou,  that  hearest  prayer  ! J.  Burton 

O  Thou,  that  hear'st  the  prayer.^.  M.  Toplady 
O  Thou,  that  hear'st  when  sinners  cry./.  Watts 
O  Thou,  the  contrite  sinner's.  .Miss  C.  Elliott 
O  Thou,  the  Father's  image  blest..  £■.  Caswall 

O  Thou,  to  whom  all.     Tate  and  Brady 

O  Thou,  to  whose  all-searching. .Tr.,y.  Wesley 
O  Thou,  who  by  a  star  didst  guide.  J.  M.  Neale 
O  Thou,  who  dost  to  man. . .  Tr. ,  _/.  If.  Hewett 
O  Thou,  who  dry'st  the  mourner's  ..  T.  Moore 

O  Thou,  who  gavest  Thy  servant R.  Heber 

O  Thou,  who  hearest  the  ..A.  M.  Toplady 
O  Thou,  who  in  Jordan  didst     G.  W.  Bethunc 

O  Thou,  who  in  the  form  of T.  Cotterill  (a) 

O  Thou,  who  in  the  olive.  Mrs.  F.  D.  Hemans 

O  Thou,  whom  we  adore C.  Wesley 

O  Thou,  who^e  all-redeeming. .  .R.  M.  Benson 
O  Thou,  whose  bounty  fills.. jl/rj.y.  Crewdson 
O  Thou,  whose  mercy  guides  my.  J.  Edmeston 
O  Thou,  whose  mercy,  truth  and.  .E.  Osier  (a) 
O  Thou,  whose  own  vast  temple..  W.  C.  Bryant 
O  Thou,  whose  sacred  feet  have..  J.  D.  Burns 
O  Thou,  whose  filmed  and  .A.  R.  Thompson 
O  Thou,  whose  tender  mercy..  .Miss A.  Steele 

O  timely  happy,  timely  wise 7.  Keble 

O  Trmity  most  blessed  light.  .Tr.,y.  M.  Neale 
O  turn,  great  Ruler  of  the  skies  /.  Merrick 
O  who  shall  dare  in  this  frail  scene.  .  .J.  Keble 
O  wondrous  type,  O  vision  fair.Tr.,y.  M.  Neale 
O  Word  of  God,  Incarnate  .  ...W.  W.  How 
O  ye  who  followed  Chrin. .  .Tr.,  J.  Chandler 
O  Zion,  open  wide  Thy  gates.. Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

O  Zion  !  tune  Thy  voice P.  Doddridge 

Object  of  my  first  desire A.  M.  Toplady 

O'er  the  distant  mountains..  .J.  S.  B.  Monsell 
O'er  the  gloomy  hills  of  darkness.  W.  Williams 
O'er  the  realms  of  pagan  darkness..  7".  Cotterill 
O'erwhelmedin  depths  ofwoc.Tr.,  .£.  Caswall 
Of  all  that  live,  and  move,  and.y.  Montgomery 

Of  all  the  joys  we  mortals  know /.  Watts 

Of  Him  who  did Bernard  of  Clairvaux 

Of  the  Father's  love  begotten 

Tr.,  H.  W.  Baker  and  J.  M.  Neale 


712 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


Of  Thy  love  some  gracious  token 7".  Kelly 

Oft  as  I  look  upon  the  road T.  Kelly 

'n  sorrow,  oft  in  woe H.  K.  White 

bless  the  Lord,  my  soul.  ../.  Montgomery 

bless  the   Lord,  my  soul  !    /.   IVatts 

blessed  souls  are  they /.  Watts 

brothers,  lift  your  voices.^.  H.  Bickersteth 
cease,  my  wandering. .  W.  A.  Muhlenberg 
come,  all  ye  faithful. .  Tr.,  E.  Caswall 
come  and  mourn  with  me..  ..F.  W.  Faber 
come,  loud  .nnthems  let  us  sing. ..jV.  Tate 
could  I  speak  the  matchless.  ...S.  Medley 
could  our  thoughts  and  . ,  Miss  A.  Steele 
deem  not  they  are  blest. . . .  W.  C.  Bryant 
ior  a  beam  of  heavenly  .  . .  W.  H.  Bathurst 
for  a  closer  walk  with  God  W.  Cow^er 
for  a  faith  that  will  not. . .  W.  H.  Bathurst 
for  a  glance  of  heavenly  day ....  J.  Hart 
for  a  heart  to  praise  my  God. . .  .C.  Wesley 
for  a  shout  of  sacred  joy         ..../.  Watts 

fur  a  sight,  a  pleasing  sight /.  Watts 

for  a  strong,  a  lasting  faith. ..  .  /.  Watts 
for  a  sweet  inspiring  ray  . . .Miss  A .  Steele 
for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing. .  C  IVesley 

for  an  overcoming  faith   /.  IFatts 

for  that  flame  of  living  .  .  fK.  //.  Bathurst 
for  that  tenderness  of  heart. . . .   C.  Wesley 

for  the  death  of  those S.F.Smith 

for  the  happy  hour. ...  G.  W.  Bethune 
for  the  peace  which. . .  .Mrs.  J.  Crewdson 
for  the  robes  of.  Mrs.  C.  L.  Bancroft 
gift  of  gifis  !  Oh  !  grace  of.  .  .F.  W.  Faber 
had  I,  my  Saviour!  the  wings.//.  F.  Lyte 
happy  day,  that  fixed  my.  .  .P.  Doddridge 
give  thanks  to  Him  who  made.  .J.  Conder 
how  divine,  how  sweet  the. .  .y.  Needham 

how  happy  are  they C.  Wesley 

how  I  love  Thy  holy  law /.  Watts 

how  shall  [  receive  Ihee.  .  .P.  Gerhard 
how  the  thought  of  God  ...F.  W.  Faber 
if  my  soul  were  formed  for  woe. ./.  Watts 
it  is  hard  to  write  for  God.  .  ..F.  W.  Faber 
joyful  sound  I  oh,  glorious  hour  T.  Kelly 
let  him,  whose  sorrow. Tr.,  Miss F.  E.  Cox 
let  me,  heavenly  Lord  !  extend.y.  Merrick 
let  my  trembling  soul  be  still. .y.  Bowring 

may  my  heart,  by  grace J.  Fawcett 

may  our  lips  and  lives  express 

E.  Osier,  from  /.  Watts 
mean  may  seem  this  house  of.  .  T.  //.  Gill 
might  I  once  mount  up  and  see../.  IVatts 
not  my  own  these  verdant. .  .  7".  F.  Smith 
not  to  fill  the  mouth  of  fame.    .T.H.  Gill 

praise  our  God  to-day //.  W.  Baker 

praise  ye  the  Lord,  prepare  your  A''.  Tate 
render  thanks  to  God  ...  Tate  and  Brady 
see  how  Jesus  trusts  himself. /T,  W.  Faber 
sing  to  me  of, .  ...Mrs.  M.  S.  B.  Shindler 
speak  that  gracious  word  again.y.  Newton 

sweetly  breathe  the  lyres R.  Palmer 

tell  me.  Thou  life  and  delight.  T.  Hastings 

that  I  could  for  ever  dwell   . . A.  Reed 

that  I  could  for  ever  sit  C.  Wesley 

that  I  could  repent C.  IVesley 

that  I  knew  the  secret  place /.  Watts 

that  my  load  of  sin  were  gone..C.  Wesley 
that  the  Lord  would  guide  my.  . ./.  Waits 

that  the  Lord's  salvation //.  F.  Lyte 

that  thou  wouldst,  the  heavens.  C.  Wesley 
that  Thy  statutes  every  hour  . . ./.  Watts 
the  delights,  the  heavenly  joys. . ./.  Watts 
the  hour  when  this  material  J.  Conder 
the  sweet  wonders  of  that  cross. ./.  Watts 
this  snul  how  dark  and  blind   .  .//.  Bonar 

't  is  delight  without  alloy /.  Watts 

turn  ye.  Oh  !  turn  ye,  for  why.y.  Hopkins 

't  was  a  joyful  sound  to  hear N.   Tate 

what  a  lonely  path  were  ours. .  .E.  Denny 
what  amazing  words  of  grace. .  .5.  Medley 


Oh  !  what,  if  we  are  Christ's H.  W.  Baker 

Oh  !  what  stupendous  mercy T.  Gibbons 

Oh  !  what  thejoy  and  the.. .  .Tr.,y.  M.  Neale 
Oh!  what  unbounded  zeal  and  love.  (K.  Cowper 
Oh  !  when  my  righteous  Jud:e  shall..?.  Shirley 
Oh  !  where  are  kings  and  empires.  .A.  C.  Coxe 
Oh  !  where  is  now  that  glowing  love  T.  Kelly 
Oh  !  where  shall  rest  be  found  J.  Montgomery 
Oh  !  wherefore,  Lord,  doth  Thy  dear.  T.  H.  Gill 
Oh  '  who,  in  such  a  world  as  .  J.  Montgomery 
Oh  !  why  so  heavy,  O  my  soul  ..../?.  Casivall 
Oh  !  worship  the  King,  all-glorious.. A'.  Grant 
Oh  !  write  upon  my  memory.  Lord.  ../.  Watts 
On  God  the  race  of  man  depend  .  .  . ./.  IVatts 
On  Jordan's  bank  the  Baptist's  cry 

C.  Coffin,  Tr.,y.  Chandler 
On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand. .6".  Stennett 

On  our  way  rejoicing J.  S.  B.  Monsell 

On  the  fount  of  life  eternal. .  .Tr.,  E.  Caswall 
On  the  hill  of  Zion  standing./;.  //.  Bickersteth 

On  the  mountain's  top  appearing T.  Kelly 

On  Thee,  each  morning,  O  my  God./}.  Kippis 
On  this  day,  the  first  of  days  ...//.  W.  Baker 
On  this,  the  day  which  saw  the. .  .J.  M.  Neale 

On  towards  Zion,  on T.  W,  A veling 

On  wings  of  living  light     W.  W.  Hoiu 

On  Zion  and  on  Lebanon.  ..//.  U.  Onderdonk 
Once  I  thought  my  mountain  strong. y.  Newton 
Once  in  royal  David's,  .yl/ri.  C.  F.  Alexander 

Once  more,  before  we  part y.  Hart 

Once  more,  my  soul  !  the  rising  day../.  Watts 
Once  more,  O  Lord,  Thy  sign. .  ..G.  W.  Doane 
Once  more  the  solemn  season  calls 

C.  Coffin.  Tr.,  W.  Mercer 
Once  more  we  come  before  our  God...y.  Hart 

Once  to  other  lords  we  bowed T.  Kelly 

One  cup  of  healing  oil . .  .D.  T.  K.  Drummond 
One  prayer  1  have,  all  prayers. .y.  Montgomery 

One  sole  baptismal  sign A'.  Robinson 

One  sweetly  solemn  thought Miss  P.  Gary 

One  there  is,  above  all  others y.  Newton 

Onward,  Christian,  though  the S.  Johnson 

Onward,  onward,  m.^n.  .Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney 
Onward,  onward,  though  the  rt.%\Q'C^.S  .Johnson 
Open  now  Thy  gates.Tr.,  AHss  C.  Winkworth 
(  ppressed  with  noonday's  scorching.//.  Bonar 

Our  country  is   Mrs.  A .  L.  Barbauld 

Our  festal  morn  is  come W.  H.  Havergal 

Our  few  revolving  years B.  Beddome 

Our  glorious  home  above./?.  T.  K.  Drummond 
Our  God  is  love,  and  all  His     . .  T.  Cotterill  (?) 

Our  God,  our  Help  in  ages  past /.  Watts 

Our  God  stands  firm,  a  rock ....  M.  Lttther 
Our  heavenly  Father  calls  ...  P.  Doddridge 
Our  heavenly  Father  !  hear.  ...J.  Montgomery 
Our  helper,  God,  we  bless  Thy.  .P.  Doddridge 
Our  land,  O  Lord  !  with  songs  .  .  ..C.  Wesley 
Our  land,  with  mercies  crowned. £'.  T.  Winkler 

Our  life  is  hid  with  Christ H.  Bonar 

Our  limbs  refreshed  with  slumber. y.  M.  Neale 

Our  Lord  is  risen  from  the  dead C.  Wesley 

Our  sins  on  Christ  were  laid.   y.  Fawcett 

Our  souls  shall  maanify  the...  .y.  ]\iontgo>nery 

Our  limes  are  in  Thy  hand W.  E'.  Lloyd 

Ours  is  the  grief  who  still   ..£.  H.  Bickersteth 

Out  of  the  deeps  of  long  distress /.  Watts 

Out  of  the  depths  I  cry  to  Thee M.  Luther 

Out  of  the  depths  of  woe  .  .J.  Montgomery 
Pain  and  toil  are  over  Airs.  C.  F.  Alexander 
Palms  of  glory,  raiment  bright.y.  Montgoinery 

Parent  of  all,  whose  love  displayed R.  Mant 

Pardoned  through  redeeming  grace.. .A".  Osier 
Part  in  peace,  Christ's  life.  Mrs.  S.  F.  Adams 
Paschal  Lamb,  by  God  appointed  .y.  Bakewell 

Pass  away,  earthly  joy  ! Mrs.  H.  Bonar 

Past  IS  her  day  of  grace         y.  Keble  (a) 

Peace  be  to  this  .  ..C.  Wesley  and  J.  Conder 
Peace,  peace  I  leave  with  you  . .  7'.  Hastings 
Peace  !  't  is  the  Lord  Jehovah's../*.  Doddridge 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


713 


Peace   troubled  soul,  whose TV.  Shirley 

People  of  the  living  Ciod  ! /.  Montgomery 

Permit  me,  Lord  !  to  seek  T)\y..MissA.  Steele 

pilgrim  !  burdened  with  thy  sin G.  Crabbe 

pilgrims  in  this  vale  of  sorrow T.  Hastings 

pilgrims  we  are,  and  strangers. .  .  J.  Burton 
planted  in  Christ,  the  living  vine  .9.  F.  Smith 
pleasant  are  Thy  courts  above.     ...H.F.Lyte 

plunged  in  a  gulf  of  dark  despair /.  Watts 

Poor  weak  and  wortiaess  tho'  I  am./.  Newton 
Pour  down  Thy  Spirit,  gracious./.  Newton  (a) 
Pour  out  Ihy  Spirit  from  on...  J.  Montgomery 

Praise,  everlasting  praise  be  paid /.  Watts 

Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings. .  .  T.  Ken 
Praise  God,  who  sent  His  ...Tr.,/.  Chandler 
Praise,  Lx)rd,  for  Thee  in  Zion  waits.//.  F.  Lyte 
Praise,  my  soul,  the  King  of  heaven.//. /^  Lyte 
Praise,  O  praise  our  God  and   ...//.  /''.  Baker 

Praise  on  Thee  in  Zion's  gates J.  Conder 

Praise  the  God  of  our  salvation..  .  .  J.  Conder 
Praise  the  Lord,  His  glories  show  //.  F.  Lyte 
Praise  the  Lord  through  every.y.  Montgomery 
Praise  the  Lord,  who  reigns  above..  C.  Wesley 
Praise  the  Lord,  ye  heavens....?.  Kempthorne 
Praise  the  Saviour!  all  ye  nations  !.  5.  Francis 

Praise  the  Saviour  !  ye  who  know T.  Kelly 

Praise  to  God,  immortal. 3/rj.  A.  L.  Barbauld 
Praise  to  God,  who  reigns  above. /v.  M.  Benson 
Praise  to  the  Holiest  in  the  . . .?.  H.  Newman 
Praise  to  the  Lord,  who  left  the  sky  E.  Osier 
Praise  to  the  radiant  Source  of  P.  Doddridge 
Praise  to  Thee,  i  hou  great  Creator./.  Fawcett 
Praise  waits  in  Zion,  Lord  !  for  thee.     /.  Watts 

Praise  ye  Jehovah's  name W.  Goode 

Praise  ye  the  Lord,  e.\alt  His  name.  . ./.  Watts 
Praise  ye  the  Lord,  immortal  choirs  !../.  Watts 
Praise  ye  ihe  Lord,  let  praise. .  Miss  A.  Steele 
Praise  ye  the  Lord,  my  heart  shall.. ../.  Watts 
Praise  to  Him  whose  love  has  given..//.  Sonar 

Pray  without  ceasing,  pray         ^'J^ff   ■, 

Prayer  is  appointed  to  convey.    7-  Hart 

Prayer  is  the  breath  of  God  in .  ...B.  Beddome 
Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere.  . . .  /.  Montgomery 

Prepare  us.  Lord,  to  view T.  Cotterill 

Prince  of  martyrs,  'X\\o\x..Santolius  Victorinus 

Pris'ners  of  sin  and  Satan  too /.  Hoskins 

Proclaim  the  lofty  praise  Mrs.  S.  B.Judson 
Prostrate,  dear  Jesus  !  at  thy  feet.  .5.  Stennett 

Put  thou  thy  trust  in  God P.  Gerhardt 

Quiet.  Lord  !  my  froward  heart /.  Newton 

Raise  thee,  my  soul,  fly  up  and  run.  . ./.  watts 

Raise  your  triumphant  songs rr    J^t 

Redeemed  from  guilt,  redeemed  H.  '^■J-yl' 
Redeemer  !  now  Thy  work  is  done . . . .  C.  Coffin 
Redeemer  of  the  nations,  come 

Ambrose,  Tr.,  W.Mercer 
Rejoice,  all  ye     . .         Tr.,  Miss  /.  Borthwick 

Rejoice  in  Jesus'  birth         ...C.  Wesley 

Rejoice,  rejoice,  believers L.  Laurenti 

Rejoice,  the  Lord  is  King         .    . ...  .  C  Wesley 

Rejoice  to-day  with  one  accord. .//.  l^  .  Bakei- 
Rejoice,  ye  righteous  !  in  the  Lord  . ./.  Watts 
Rejoice,  ye  shining  worlds  on  high..  ./.  »«  atts 

Religion  is  the  chief  concern J-  Fawcett 

Remark,  my  soul,  the  narrow. .  .P.  Doddridge 
Remember  thee,  remember..  ._...R.  Jf  ^/^V" 
Repent  !  the  voice  celestial  cries. A  Doddridge 

Rest  from  Thy  labor,  rest /.  Montgomery 

Rest  for  the  tolling  hand      ^■"■P/'^^'' 

Return,  my  roving  heart !   P.  J^'"^.<f''''^^f. 

Return,  mv  soul,  enjoy  thy  rest  .     7- .!.^'««''« 

Return,  my  wandering  soul \i  .  B.  f-ouy^r 

Return,  O  God  of  love  I  return         .    ■i-}}\f*' 

Return!  O  wanderer  !  return W.B.Collyer 

"eturn.  O  wanderer,  to  thy  home..  T.  Hastj'igs 

Revive  Thy  work,  O  Lord  ! ^^-Ji'f^r 

r;ich  are  the  joys  which  c3.nvo\....P.  Doddridge 
Ride  on,  ride  on,  in  majesty. ...//.  H-Md'!'/'' 
Rise,  glorious  Conqueror !  nse M.  Jiriages 


Rise,  gracious  God,  and  shine W.  Hum 

Rise,  my  soul  !  and  stretch  thy. . ./?.  Seagrave 
Rise,  O  my  .soul  !  pursue  the  path./.  Needhatn 
Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me  !.  . .   .A.  M.  Toplady 

Roll  on,  Ihou  mighty  ocean  ! J.  Edmeston 

Round  the  Lord  in  glory  seated R.  Mant 

Royal  day,  thatcha^est  gloom. Tr.,/.  M.  Neale 
Safe  home,  safe  home  in  port..   .    /.  M.  Neale 

Safely  through  another  week       /.  Newton 

Saints  !  with  pious  zeal  attending /.  Taylor 

Salvation  doth  to  God  belong..../'.  Doddridge 

Salvation  is  for  ever  nigh /.  Watts 

Salvation  !  Oh  !  the  joyful  sound.         /.  Watts 

Saved  ourselves  by  Jesus'  blood T.  Kelly 

Saviour,  abide  with  us J.  M.  Neale 

Saviour,  bless  Thy  word  to  all T.  Kelly 

Saviour  !  breathe  an  evening /.  Edmeston 

Saviour  divine  !  we  know  Thy.  ..P.  Doddridge 

Saviour,  happy  would  I  be E.  H.  Nevin 

Saviour,  hasten  Thine  appearing /.  G.  Deck 

Saviour  !  I  follow  on C.  S.  Robinson 

Saviour,  I  look  to  Thee T.  Hastings 

Saviour.  I  Thy  word  believe. .  ..A.M.  Toplady 
Saviour,  let  Thy  sanction  rest. . .  .  T.  Raffles 
Saviour!  like  a  shepherd,  .il/w.? /?.  ^.  Thrupp 
Saviour  of  all,  what  hast  Thou  done.C.  Wesley 

Saviour  of  our  ruined  race T.  Hastings 

Saviour,  send  a  blessing  to  us 7".  Kelly 

Saviour,  source  of  every  blessing.../?.  Robinson 
Saviour!  sprinkle  many  nations  ..  A.C.  Coxe 
Saviour,  teach  me  day  by  A3.y. Miss  J.  E.  Leeson 
Saviour,  through  the  desert  lead  us —  T.  Kelly 

Saviour,  Thy  gentle  voice  T.  Hastings 

Saviour,  Thy  law  we. . .  .Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney 

Saviour  !  Thyself  to  me  reveal C.  Wesley 

Saviour  !  visit  Thy  plantation.         .J.Newton 

Saviour  !  when,  in  dust  to  Thee R.  Grant 

Saviour,  who  Thy  flock  art.  JK.  A.  Muhlenberg 

Saviour,  whom  our  hearts  adore E.  Osier 

Saviour,  whose  love  could  stoop E.  Osier 

Saw  ye  not  the  cloud  arise C.  Wesley 

Say,  sinner,  hath  a  voice Mrs.  A .  B.Hyde 

See  a  poor  sinner,  dearest  Lord 5.  Medley 

See  from  Zion's  sacred  mountain..  T.  Kelly 

See,  gracious  God  !  before  Thy.. Miss  A.  Steele 

See,  how  great  a  flame  aspires C.Wesley 

See  how  the  morning  sun Miss  E.  Scott 

See  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  .  .  T.  Cotterill 
See  Israel's  gentle  Shepherd.  ...P.  Doddridge 
See,  Jesus  stands  with  open  .Miss  A .  Steele 
See,  oh  !  see  what  love.C.  Spitta,  I'r.,  R.Massie 
See,  the  Conqueror  mounts  in..C.  Wordsworth. 

See'the  destined  day  arise •  ■   •^- ^^"' 

See  the  ransomed  millions  stand /  ^^"'^fj" 

See,  what  a  living  stone -  -  ■/.  watts 

Seek,  my  soul,  the  narrow...//.  U.  Onderdonk 
Self-love  no  grace  in  sorrow  sees.  .Mme.  Guyon 
Send  out  Thy  light  and  truth. ./.  Montgomery 
Servants  of  God  !  well  done  !. . ./.  Montgomery 
Servant  of  God!  well  done!  .  .  C.Wesley 
Servants  of  God,  in  joyful  lays . ./.  Montgomery 
Set  in  a  high  and  favored  place.  •  •  •  -^  ^^.^'^ 
Shall  man,  O  God  of  life  and  light. .  T.Dwight 
Shall  science  distant  lands..  W  Slirubsole  Jr. 
Shall  the  vile  race  of  flesh  andblood.../.  Watts 

Shall  we  go  on  to  sin /  ■  .jTf;" 

Shepherd  divine  !  our  wants  relieve..C.W^^^^£ 
Shepherd  of  Israel  !  bend  1\.^r.^  P.Doddridge 
Shepherd  of  Israel  !  from  W.  ^■Bajhurst 

Shepherd  of  Israel !  thou  dost  P  Doddridge 
Shepherd  of  souls  !  refresh  and./.  Montgomery 
Shepherd  of  Thine  Israel,  lead  us.  ..S'.CW^r 
Shine,  mighty  God  !  on  Zion  shine. . ./.  Watts 
Shine  on  our  land,  Jehovah,  sh.ne^.  /.j^««^ 
Shine  on  our  souls,  eternal  ^'^^-^-^ff'^Zf^ 

chniit   O  earth  W.  H.  Havergal 

ihout'thetlad  tidings  ^  J^.  A.  Muhlenberg 
Show  pity,  Lord  !  O  Lord  !  forgive.  •  •/■  ^'^^^ 
Since  all  the  varying  scenes  of  time./.  Hervey 


714 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


Since  Christ  our  Saviour  is  slain A\  Tate 

Since  I've  known  a  Saviour's  name.  .C.  IVesley 
Since  Jesus  freely  did  appear         ..J.  Berridge 

Since  Jesus  is  ray  friend P.  Gerhardt 

Since  on  Thy  footstool W.  A.  Muhlenberg 

Sing,  all  ye  ransomed  of  the P.  Doddridge 

Sing,  my  tongue  !  the  . .  .  .Tr.,  E.  Casiuall 
Sing,  O  heavens  '.  O  earth  !.../.  ,S.  B.  Monsell 

Sing  of  Jesus,  sing  for  ever T.Kelly 

Sing,  sing  His  lofty  praise   T.  Kelly 

Sing  the  great  Jehovah's  praise G.  Sandys 

Sing  to  the  Lord  a  joyful  song._/.  6'.  B.  Monsell 
Sing  to  the  Lord  in  joyful  strains. .  .  .M.  Bruce 

Sing  to  the  Lord  Jehovah's  name /.  ll'atts 

Sing  to  the  Lord  most  high.  . .  .  .T.  Dwight 
Sing  to  the  Lord  of  harvest   . .  J.  S.  B.  Monsell 

Sing  to  the  Lord,  our  Might H.  F.  Lyte 

Sing  to  the  Lord,  ye  distant  lands  .../.  Watts 
Sing  to  the  Lord,  ye  heavenly  hosts  !../.  Watts 
Sing  we  the  song  of  those  •w\\o .  .J .  Montgomery 
Sing,  ye  redeemed  of  the  Lord  \..P.  Doddridge 

Sing,  ye  seraphs  in  the  sky   . .    T.  Davis 

Sinner,  come  up  with  me A.  M.  Toplady 

Sinner,  hear  thy  Saviour's  call J.  Neivton 

Sinner  !  Oh  !  why  so  thoughtless /.  Watts 

Sinner  !  rouse  thee  from  thy.//.  U.  Onderdonk 
Sinners,  come,  the  Saviour.  .N.  L.  Zinzendorf 

Sinners  !  lift  up  your  hearts         J.  Wesley 

Sinners  !  obey  the  gospel  word C.  Wesley 

Sinners  !  the  voice  of  God  regard.  . ._/.  Faivcett 
Sinners  !  turn,  why  will  36  die?  .  .  ..C.  Wesley 
Sion,  ope  thy  \\-D\\ovi&A...Santolius  Victorinus 
Sion's  daughters,  weep  no.  ..Tr.,  H.  ly.  Baker 
Sister,  thou  most  mild  and  lovely..  3'.  /^  Stnitli 
Six  days  of  labor  now  are  past  . .  .  C.  Cojjfin 
So  fades  the  lovely  blooming . .  .  Miss  A .  Steele 

So  let  our  lips  and  lives  express /.  Watts 

Soft  and  holy  is  the  place T.  Hastitigs 

Soft  be  the  gently  breathing W.  B.  Collyer 

Softly  fades  the  twilight  ray 5.  F.  Smith 

Softly  now  the  light  of  day  G.  W.  Doane 

Soldiers  of  Christ  !  arise C.   Wesley 

Soldiers  of  the  cross  !  arise   W.  H,  How 

Something  every  heart  is  loving.  C  Tersteegen 

Sometimes  a  light  surprises J.  Newton 

Son  of  God,  Thy  blessing  grant C.  Wesley 

Son  of  God,  to  Thee  I  cry R.  Mant 

Son  of  the  Highest,  deign.  Tr.,  E,  Caswall  (a) 
Songs  anew  of  honor  framing         ....  W.  Goode 

Songs  of  immortal  praise  belong /.  Watts 

Songs  of  praise  the  angels  sang.  J.  Montgotnery 

Songs  of  thankfulness  and C.  li'ordsworth 

Sons  of  men  !  behold  from  far C.  Wesley  , 

Sons  of  Zion  !  r.nise  your  songs T.  Kelly 

Soon  and  for  ever,  such ...        J.  S.  B.  Monsell 

Soon  as  I  heard  my  Father  say /.  Watts  i 

Soon  the  fiery  sun  ascending.  .Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

Souls  in  heathen Airs.  C,  F.  Alexander 

Sound,  sound  the  truth  abroad T.  Kelly 

Sound  the  loud  timbrel T.  Moore  \ 

.Source  of  light  and  life Tr.,  J.  Chandler 

Sovereign  of  all  the  worlds P.  Doddridge 

Sovereign  Ruler,  Lord  of  all  !   T.  Raffles 

Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  skies  ! .J.  Ryland 

Sow  in  the  morn  thy  seed J.  Montgotnery 

Speak  to  me.  Lord,  Thyself  reveal..  C.  Wesley  j 
Speed  Thy  servants.  Saviour,  speed   .  .T.  Kelly  \ 

Spirit  divine  !  attend  our  prayers A.  Reed 

Spirit  !  leave  thy  house  of  clay._/.  Montgotnery 

Spirit  of  everl  sting  grace H.  Bonar 

Spirit  of  faith  !  come  down   ..  .C.  Wesley 

Spirit  of  God  !  that  .  .  .Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander 
Spirit  of  holiness,  descend. .  .  ..S.  F.  Smith 

Spirit  of  holiness  !  look  d.ovir\..W.  H.  Bathurst 
Spirit  of  light  and  truth,  to  Thee   .     ..J.  Keble 

Spirit  of  peace  and  holiness 5'.  F.  Smith 

Spirit  of  peace,  celestial  dove..  ..  H.  F.  Lyte 
Spirit  of  power  and  might  !. . . .  J.  Montgomery 
Spirit  of  power  and  truth ....  ff'.  L.  Alexander  ' 


Spirit  of  Truth,  essential  God.  . .         C.  Wesley 

Spirit  of  truth  !  on  this  Thy  day R.  Hcier 

Spirit  of  truth  !  Ihy  grace  impart..  T.  Cotterill 

Spread,  O  spread Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkworth 

Spring  up,  my  soul,  with  ardent.,/".  Doddridge 
Stand  up,  and  bless  the  Lord.   J.  iMontgotnery 

Stand  up,  my  soul  I  shake  oflf  thy /.  Watts 

Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus G.  Dufft.eld 

Stars  of  the  morning,  so Tt..,J.  M.  Neale 

Stay,  Thou  insulted  Spirit !  stay   ...C.  Wesley 

Stealing  from  the  world  away R.  Palmer 

Stern  winter  throws  his  icy.  Miss  A.  Steele 
Still  one  in  life,  and  one  in  death. ...//.  Bonar 
Still,  still  with  Thee,  my  God  \..  ..J.  D.  Burns 
Stoop  down,  my  thoughts  !  that  used../.  Watts 
Strait  is  the  way,  the  door  is  strait. . .  ./.  M'aits 
Stretched  on  the  cross,  the.  .  .Miss  A.  Steele 
Strangers  and  pilgrims  here  below.  _/.  M.  \eale 
Strangers,  pilgrims,  here  below.  ..._/.  Hoskins 

Stricken,  smitten,  and  afflicted   T.  Kelly 

Suffering  Son  of  man  !  be  near  me.   .C.  Wesley 

Summer  suns  are  glowing //'.  W.  Hoiu 

Sun  of  my  soul.  Thou  Saviour  dear  !.  .y.  Keble 
Sure,  the  blessed  Comforter  is  .  .Miss  A.  Steele 

Sure,  there  's  a  righteous  God /.  Watts 

Surely,  Christ  thy  griefs  hath...^.  M.  Toplady 

Sweet  and  holy  is  the  place T.  Hastings 

Sweet  as  the  Shepherd's  tuneful  .  .  W.  Shirley 

S.weet  feast  of  love  divine E.  Denny 

Sweet  is  the  light  of  Sabbath  eve. .3^.  Edmeston 
I  Sweet  is  the  memory  of  Thy  grace. . .  /.  Watts 
Sweet  is  the  scene  when.  .Mrs.  A.  L.  Barbauld 
Swee>  is  the  solemn  voice  that  calls.//.  F.  Lyte 
Sweet  is  the  work,  my  (.>ch1.  my  King../.  Watts 
Sweet  is  Thy  mercy,  Lortl  J.  S.  B.  Monsell 
Sweet  peace  of  conscience  !  ..O.  Heginbothotn 
Sweet  Saviour,  bless  us  ere  vvego,/^.  W.  Faber 
Sweet  the  moments,  rich  in  blessing,  "J.  Allen 
Sweet  the  time,  exceeding  -wect. .  ..G.  Burder 
Sweet  was  the  time,  when  first  I  felt,_/.  Newton 
Sweeter  sounds  than  music  knows., ._/.  Newton 
Swell  the  anthem,  raise  the  song.,  .   N.  Strong 

Swift  to  its  close  ebbs  out  life's H.  F.  Lyte 

Take  me,  O  my  Father  !  take  me. .  ./?.  Palmer 
Take  my  poor  heart,  closed  let.  .Tr.,  y.  IVesley 
Take,  my  sonl  !  thy  full  salvation. . .//.  F.  Lyte 
Talk  with  me.  Lord,  Thyself  reveal.. C  Wesley 
Tarry  with  me,  O  my  Saviour  !  Mrs.C.  S.  Smith 
Teach  me  the  measure  of  my  days. ,  . ./  Watts 
Teach  me  to  do  the  thing  .  .J.  S.  B  Monsell 
Ten  thousand  talents  once  I  owed.  .J.  Newton 
Tender  Shepherd  . .  .1  r..  Miss  C.  Winkworth 
Thank  and  praise  Jehovah's     ._/.  Montgomery 

That  awful  day  will  surely  come /.  Watts 

That  day  of  wrath,  that  dreadful  day 

Tho/>ms  of  Celano.  Tr.,  W.  Scott 
That  doleful  night  before  His  death . .  .7. //cir^ 
That  Easter-tide  with  joy  was  bright 

Ambrose^  ir.,  J.  M.  Neale 
That  fearful  day.  that  day  of. .  Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 
That  holy  rite,  that  solemn  vow. ...  .E.  Osier 

That  we  might  walk  with  God B.Beddome 

The  advent  of  our  God 

C.  Coffin,  Tr.,  J.  Chandler 
The  angel  comes ;  he  comes  to  reap. ./?.  Heber 
The  Apostles'  hearts  were  full  of  pain 

Ambrose.,  Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 

The  atoning  work  is  d^ne  T.  Kelly 

The  billows  swell,  th-:-  winds  are  .W.  Cowper 
The  bird  let  loose  in  E:isiern  skies...  T,  Moore 
The  blessed  Spirit,  like  the  wind     B.  Beddome 

The  chariot,  the  chariot,  its H.  H.  Mihnan 

Ihe  church  has  waited  long  . .   .H.  Bonar 

The  counsels  of  redeeming  grace..  .5'.  Stenneti 
The  dawn  was  purpling  o'er..Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

The  day  is  gently  sinking C.  Wordsworth 

The  day  is  past  and  gone J.  Leland  (?) 

The  day  is  past  and  over 

St.  Anatolius,  Tr.,  y.  M.  Neale 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


715 


The  day.  O  Lord  !  U  spent y.  M.  Neale 

The  day  of  rest  once  more  comes T.  Kelly 

The  day  of  resurrection 

John  Damascene,  Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 
The  day  of  wrath,  that  dreadful  day..M^.  Scott 
The  earth,  O  Lord,  is  one  wide.,  j.  M.  Neale 
The  eternal  gates  \\{i.Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander  (a) 
The  eternal  gifts  of  Christ  the  King 

A  mbrose,  Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 

The  eternal  Spirit's  gifts Ambrose 

The  festal  morn,  my  God  !  is  come.y.  Merrick 
The  fish  in  wave,  and  bird  on  wing.  ..C.  Coffin 
The  foe  behind,  the  deep  before,  J.  M.  Neale 
The  gathering  clouds,  with  aspect.  J.  Newton 
The  gentle  Saviour  calls     . .//.  U.  Onderdonk 

The  glories  of  my  Maker  God /.  /*  'atts 

The  glorious  universe  around. .7.  Montgomery 

The  God  of  Abraham  praise T.  Olivers 

The  God  of  glory  walks  His  round. .  .R.  Hcher 
The  God  of  harvest  praise..  .J.  Montgomery 
The  God  of  life,  whose  constant./".  Doddridge 

The  God  of  love  will  sure Miss  A  .  Steele 

The  God  of  peace,  who,  from  the.  .£■.  T.  Fitch 

The  God  of  truth  His  church  has W.  Hnrn 

The  God  who  reigns  on  high T.  Olivers 

The  golden  corn  now  waxes  strong 

P.  Gerhard,  Tr.,  R.  Massie 
The  golden  gates  are. .  .Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander 

The  goodly  land  I  see  T.Olivers 

The  great  forerunner  of  the  mom 

Venerable  Bede,  Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 

The  happy  morn  is  come J.  Haweis 

The  head,  that  once  was  crowned  T.  Kelly 
The  heavenly  child  in. .  .Santolius  Victorinus 

The  heavens  are  telling  high  and J.  Keble 

The  heavens  declare  His  glory J.  Condcr 

The  heavens  declare  Thy  glory.  Lord  !./.  Watts 
The  hour  is  come  ;  the  feast. A\  //.  Bickersteth 
The  hour  of  my  departure's  come.  ..M.  Bruce 
The  King  of  heaven  His  table.  ..P.  Doddridge 
The  King  of  love  my  Shepherd..//.  \V\  Baker 
The  King  of  saints,  how  fair  His  face./.  Watts 
The  Lamb's  high  banquet. .  Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 
The  last  loud  trumpet's. .  . .  Thomas  de  Celano 
The  law  commands  and  makes  us   . . ./.  Watts 

The  leaves  around  me  falling H.  F.  Lyte 

The  life  which  God's  incarnate.Tr.,  H.  Caswall 
The  livelong  night  we've  toiled  in.  ...J.  Keble 

The  long-expected  morn /".  Kelly 

The  Lord  descended  from  above.  T.  Sternhold 
The  Lord  himself,  the  mighty.  Tate  and  Brady 
The  Lord!  how  fearful  is  His  naine!./.  Watts 
The  Lord  !  how  wondrous  are  His.  ../.  Watts 
The  Lord  is  King  !  child  of  the  dust  \.J.  Conder 
The  Lord  is  King,  lift  up  thy  voice. .7.  Conder 
The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  no. .7.  Montgomery 

"  The  Lord  is  risen  indeed  !  " T.  Kelly 

The  Lord  Jehovah  calls   P.  Doddridge 

The  Lord  Jehovah  lives T.  Hastings 

The  Lord  Jehovah  reigns,  And /.  Watts 

The  Lord  Jehovah  reigns,  His   /.  ll'atts 

The  Lord  Jehovah  reigns.  Let /.  Watts 

I  he  Lord  my  pasture  shall  prepare.y.  Addison 

The  Lord  my  Shepherd  is     A  H^'atts 

The  Lord  of  gloi-y  is  my  light /.  Watts 

The  Lord  of  misht  from  Sinai's  brow./?.  Heber 

The  Lord  of  Sabbaths  let  us 5.  Wesley,  Jr. 

The  Lord  on  high  ascends Ambrose 

The  Lord,  our  God,  is  clothed. ...//.  K.  White 
The  Lord  our  God  is  Lord  of  all..//.  K.  White 

The  Lord,  the  God  of  glory Miss  A  .  Steele 

The  Lord,  the  Judge,  before  His /.  Watts 

The  Lord,  the  mighty  God,  is  great... £■.  Osier 
The  Lord  will  come  and  not  be  slow.  J.  Milton 
The  Lord  will  come,  the  earth  shall. .A'.  Heber 

1  he  Lord  will  happiness  divine W.  Cowper 

The  man  is  ever  blessed        /.  Watts 

The  mercies  of  my  God  and  King. . .'/.  F.  Lyte 
The  mighty  frame  of  glorious  grace. ../.  Watts 


The  mighty  gates  of  earth  unbar. .  .  G.  Weissel 
The  mind  was  formed  to  xi\n\inX..Miss  A.  Steele 
The  morning  dawns  upon  \.\\e...J.  Montgomery 

The  morning  flowers  display S.  Wesley,  Jr. 

The  morning  light  is  breaking. . . .,?.  F.  Smith 
The  morning  purples  all  the  sky 

Ambrose,  Tr.,  A.  R.  Thompson 
The  night  becomes  as  day  .  .  Tr.,  E.  Caswall 
The  pastor's  voice  we  lov'd  to  hear.  .£.  Osier 
The  peace  which  God  alone  reveals. 7.  Ne-vton 

The  people  of  His  choice A.  M.  Toplady 

The  people  of  the  Lord T.  Kelly 

The  people  that  in  darkness  sat..y.  Morrison 

The  pity  of  the  Lord I.  Watts 

The  praying  Spirit  breathe  C.  Wesley 

The  precious  seed  of  weeping..  C  J.  P.  Spitta 
The  Prince  of  Salvation  in  triumph. .S".  F.  Smith 
The  prodigal,  with         .Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney 

The  promise  of  my  Father's  love /.  Watts 

The  promises  I  sing P.  Doddridge 

The  race  that  long  in  darkness.. . .  J.  Morrison 
The  rainbow  shines  ;  no  fabling  T.  Campbell 
The  roseate  hues  of. .  .  Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander 
The  royal  banner  is  unfurled. Tr.,  J.  Chandler 
The  royal  banners  forward  go 

Verientius  Fortunattts,  Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 
The  Sabbath  day  has  reached  .iJ//jj  C.  Elliott 
The  >acred  season  now.  .  .Tr.,  J.  Chandler  (a) 

The  saints  should  never  be W.  Cowper 

The  Saviour  bids  us  watch  and. .  .  T.  Hastings 
The  Saviour  calls,  let  every  ear. Miss  A .  Steele 
The  Saviour  comes,  no  outward.  W,  Robertson 
The  Saviour  kindly  calls  ...//.  U.  Onderdonk 
The  Saviour  lives,  no  more  to  die. .  .S.  Medley 
The  Saviour,  oh  what  endless.  ..J//.ri  A.  Steele 
The  Saviour,  when  to  heaven.  ..P.  Doddridge 
The  seeds  which  piety  and  love../'  Doddridge 
The  shadow  of  the  Almighty's  cloud. T'-  Keble 
Ihe  silent  joy  that  sinks  so  deep.  .  J.  Keble 
The  solemn  service  now  is  done. .  .S.  F,  Smith 
The  Son  of  t.od  goes  forth  to  war. .  .A'.  Heber 
The  spacious  firmament  on  high...y.  Addison 
The  Spirit  breathes  upon  the  word.  W.  Cotvper 

The  Spirit,  in  our  hearts H.  U.  Onderdonk 

The  Spirit,  like  a  peaceful  uove /.  Watts 

The  Spirit  on  the  waters. .  . .  C.  Wordsworth 
The  Spirit  to  our  hearts  .  .//.  U.  Onderdonk 
The  star  of  morn  now  wakes.  ..Tr.,  W.  Mercer 
The  starry  firmament  on  high  .R.  Grant 

The  strain  upraise  of  joy.   .     Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 

The  Sun  is  sinking  fast Tr.,  E.  Caswall 

The  Sun  of  righteousness S.  Wesley.  Jr. 

The  Sun  of  righteousness  on  me....C.  Wesley 
The  Sunday  morn  again  is  here. . .  J.  M.  Neale 

The  supper  of  the  Lamb  to Tr.,  W.  Mercer 

The  swift  declining  day P.  Doddridge 

The  tempter  to  my  soul  hath.. 7.  Montgomery 
The  time  is  short  ere  all  that  live.. 7.  Hoskins 
The  triumphs  of  the  martyred  .Tr.,  R.  Mant 
The  trumpet  sounds,  the  day  has.  Tr.,  H.  Mills 

The  voice  of  free  grace  cries R.  Burdsall 

The  voice  that  breathed  o'er  Eden . .  .  J.  Keble 
The  winds  were  howling  o'er  the  deep.^.  Heber 
The  winged  herald  of  the  day 

Latin  Hymn,  Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale 

The  Word  from  His Tr.,  J.  M.  Neale  (a) 

The  Word,  with  God  the Tr.,  J.  Chandler 

The  world  can  neither  give...  J.  il/axf'w  (partly) 
The  world  is  very  evil 

Bernard  De  Morlaix,  Tr.,/.  M.  Neale 

The  year  begins  with  Thee J.  Keble 

Thee,  King  of  saints  !  we  praise C.  Wesley 

Thee  to  laud  in  songs  divine C.  Wcs'ey 

Thee  we  adore,  Almighty  Lord E.  Osier 

Thee  we  adore,  eternal  Lord T.   Cotter  ill 

Thee  we  adore,  eternal  Name  !   /.   Watts 

Thee  will  I  love,  my  Strength  .Tr.,  J.  Wesley 
Their  hearts  s'.idll  not  be  .  ..  IZ/oJ  J.  E.  Lcesnn 
There  is  a  blessed  home H.  W.  Baker 


716 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


There  is  a  boolt,  who  runs  may  read . .  f.  Keble 
There  is  a  cairn  *"or  those  who.  J.  Montgomery 
There  is  a  dear  and  h  lUowed  .  .Mrs  A,  Taylor 

There  is  a  fountain  filled  with   W.  Coivper 

There  is  a  glorious  world  of  light J.  Taylor 

There  is  a  God  !  all  nature   Miss  A .  Steele 

There  is  a  green  hill  far.  Mrs.  C.  F.Alexander 

There  is  a  holy  sacrifice   Miss  C.  Elliott 

1  here  is  a  house  not  made  with . ./.  Watts 

There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight   /.  Watts 

There  is  a  little  lonely  h\-\..Mrs.  M.  G.  Saffery 

There  is  a  safe  and  secret  place H.  F.  Lyte 

There  is  a  spot  of  consecrated.  .Miss  C.  Elliott 
There  is  an  hour  of  hallowed. ..  VV.  B.  Tappan 
There  is  an  hour  of  peaceful. .  ..W.  B.  Tappan 
There  is  an  hour  when  I  must  part.  . .  .A.  Reed 
There  on  a  high  majestic  throne  ..../.  Watts 
There'sa  friend  for  little  children..^.  Midlane 

There's  a  wideness  in  God's F.  W.  Fader 

There's  not  a  bird  with  lonely  nest..C  T.  Noel 
These  are  the  crowns  that  we  shall.  .H.  Boiiar 
These  glorious  minds,  how  bright..../.  Watts 
These  mortal  joys  how  soon  . . .  .P.  Doddridge 
They  come,  (iod's  messengers. .  ..R.  Campbell 
They  whose  course  on  eaith  is. .  ..y.  M.  Neale 
Thine  earthly  Sabbaths,  Lord  !.  .P.  Doddridge 

Thine  for  ever,  God  of Mrs.  M.  F.  Maude 

Thine  holy  days  returning R.  Palmer 

Thine,  Lord,  is  wisdom.  Thine.. Tr.,  J.  Wesley 

Think,  O  ye,  who  fondly W.  B.  Collyer 

Think  well  how  Jesus  trusts  . .  ..F.  W.  Faber 
This  day  by  Thy  creating  word  .  W.  W.  How 
This  day  the  Light  of  heavenly.  ..W.  W.  How 
This  day  the  Lord  hath  called. /-F'.  H.  Bat  hurst 

This  God  is  the  God  we  adore J.  Hart 

This  is  not  my  place  of  resting H.  Bonar 

This  is  the  day  of  toil //.  Bonar 

This  is  the  day  the  Lord  hath  made. ./.  Watts 
This  is  the  word  of  truth  and  love. .  . ./.  Watts 
This  life's  a  dream,  an  empty  show..  ./.  IVatts 
This  place  is  holy  ground  . .  .J.  Montgomery 
This  stone  to  Thee  in  faith  we.. 5^.  Montgomery 
Thi-i  world  is  poor  from  shore  to  shore. C.  Giles 
This  world  would  be  a  wilderness. .5.  Beddome 
Those  whom  many  a  land  divides  .J.  M.  JVeale 
Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave,  but  we  ..R.  Heber 
Thou  art  my  hiding-place,  O  Lord  ..  T.  Raffles 
'I'hou  art  my  Portion,  O  my  God  !. . .  /.  Watts 
Thou  art,  O  (iod,  the  life  and  light  .  T.  .Moore 
Thou  art  the  Way,  to  Thee. .         G.   IV.  Doane 

Thou  boundless  source  of O.  Heginbothom 

Thou  brightness  of  the  .Tr.,  J.  Chandler 

Thou  dear  Redeemer,  dying  Lamb  !  J.  Cennick 
Thou  framer  of  the  light  and  daik. .  .    J.  Keble 

I'hou  friend  of  sinners,  who  hast E.  Osier 

Thou  glorious  sovereign  of  the.../".  Doddridge 
Thou  God,  all  glory,  honor,  power. .  ..N.  Tate 
Thou  God  of  truth.  Thou  Lord  of. . .  Ambrose 

Thou  gracious  God,  and  kind W.  Goode 

Thou  great  Creator,  art  possest C.  Coffln 

Thou  hidden  love  of  God,  whose  might 

G.  Tersteegen.,  Tr.,  y.  Wesley 
Thou  hidden  Source  of  calm  repose  !  C.  JVesley 
Thou  Judge  of  quick  and  dead  ..C.  Wesley 
Thou  icnowest,  Lord,  that  they  ...  .J.  Anstice 
Thou  Lamb  of  God  !  that  on  the. .  ..T.  Haweis 

Thou  Lord  of  all  above   B.  Beddome 

Thou  lovely  Source  of  true Miss  A.  Steele 

Thou,  O  Christ,  art  all  I  want C.  Weslev 

Thou,  ()  Lord,  in  tender  love C  Wesley 

Thou  of  old  time  hast  loved  us..fK.  Coivper  (a) 
Thou  only  source  of  true. .  .  .Miss  A.  Steele  (a) 

Thou  only  Sovereign  of  my RUss  A.  Steele 

Thou  plenteous  source  of  light. ._/.  H.  Gurney 
Thou  refuge  of  my  weary  soul.  .Miss  A.  Steele 

Thou  Saviour  from  Thy  throne R.  Palmer 

Thou  sepst  my  feebleness C.  Wesley 

Thou  Son  of  God,  and  Son  of  man.. y.  Ryland 
Thou  spak'st  the  word,  and  into  one..C.  Coffln 


Thou  very  present  Aid C.  Wesley 

Thou,  who  art  enthroned  above  ! G.Sandys 

Thou  who  a  tender  parent  art R.  Hill  (?) 

Thou  who  camest  from  above /.  M.  Neale 

Thou  who  didst  leave  Thy..  ..Tr.,  R.  Caswall 
Thou,  who  didst  on  Calvary  ...  J.  D.  Burns 
Thou,  who  loll'st  the  year  around.  R.  Palmer 
Thou,  whom  my  soul  admires  above../.  Watts 

Thou,  whose  almighty  word J.  Marriott 

Thou  whose  never  failing  arm  ..//.  F.  Lyte 
Though  all  the  world  my  choice. .C  Tersteegen 
Though  I  speak  with.Tr.,  MissC.  Winkworth 
Though  in  midst  of  life  we  be  .  ..71/.  Luther 
Though  nature's  strength  decay..  ..T.  Olivers 
Though  now  the  nations  sit  beneath. .Z.  Bacon 
Though  sorrows  rise  and  dangers  ..  R.  Heber 
Though  troubles  assail  and  dangers./.  Ne^vton 
Thrice  blessed  are  the  pure  in   .  ..J.  Keble  (a) 

Thrice  happy  man,  who  fears  the /.  Watts 

ihrice  happy  souls,  who  born    .  .P.  Doddridge 

Thrice  holy  God,  of  wondrous J.  Chandler 

Throned  high  is  Jesus  now /'.  y.  yudkin 

Through  all  the  changing  scenes  of. .  .N.  Tate 
Thiough  all  the  dangers  of  ihe  night.  T.  Kelly 
Through  endless  years  Thou.  Tate  and  Watts 
Through  every  age,  eternal  God!..../.  Watts 
Through  good  report  and  evil.  Lord  H.  Bonar 
Through  sorrow's  night  and  ..//.  K.  White 
Through  the  day  Thy  love  has  spared.  T.  Kelly 
Through  the  love  of  God  om.Mrs.  M.  B.Peters 
Thus  far  my  God  hath  led  me  on. .  J.  Fawcett 

Thus  far  the  Lord  has  led  me  on /.  Watts 

Thus  saith  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  . .  /.  Watts 
Thus  the  eternal  Father  spake.  .  L  Watts 
Thus  we  confess  the  Saviour's  love. .  .E.  Osier 

Thy  bounties,  gracious  Lord  ! Miss  E.  Scott 

Thy  Father's  house  I R.  Palmer 

Thy  gloty,  Lord,  the  heavens. y.  Montgomery 
Thy  goodness.  Lord,  our  souls.  T.  Gibbons 

Thy  gracious  presence,  O  my. .  .Miss  A  .  Steele 

Thy  holy  day's  r-turning R,  Palmer 

Thy  home  is  with  the  humble.  . .  .F.  W.  Faber 
Thy  life  I  read,  my  dearest  Lord  \..S.  Stennett 
Thy  mercy  heard  my  infant  prayer  .R.  Grant 
Thy  mercy,  my  God  !  is  the  theme../.  Stocker 

Thy  name,  almighty  Lord  I   /.  Watts 

Thy  presence,  qracious  God  I.  .  J.  Fawcett 
Thy  sacred  influence,  Lord,  impart. .  .B.  Osier 

I'hy  way,  not  mine,  O  Lord  ! H.  Bonar 

Thy  way,  O  God  !  is  in  the  sea y.  Fawcett 

Thy  will  be  done!  in  devious  way./.  Bowring 
Thy  word,  almighty  Lord  !     .  _/.  Montgomery 

Thy  works,  not  mine,  O  Christ H.  Bonar 

Till  He  come,  O  let  the   E.  H.  Bickerstetk 

Till  its  holy  hours  are  past ..  .  .y.  M.  Neale 

Time  by  moments  steals  away..  y.  Newton 
Time  hastens  on,  ye  longing   .  .   P.  Doddridge 

Time  is  winging  us  away /.  Burton 

Time,  thou  speedest.Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkworth 

Time's  sun  is  fast  setting         //.  Bonar 

'T  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  see  .  ....//.  F.  Lyte 
'T  is  a  point  I  long  to  know  ...... .y.  Newton 

'T  is  by  the  faith  of  joys  to  come /   Watts 

'T  is  by  Thy  strength  the  mountains./.  Watts 
'T  is  done: — that  new  and  . . //.  /('.  Baker 

'T  is  done,— th'  important  act  is.. .5.  F.  Smith 
'T  is  feith  supports  my  feeble  soul. j5.  Beddome 
"  'T  is  finished,"  let  the  joyful  .  .5.  Stennett 
"  "T  is  finished  !  "  so  the  Saviour. .  .6".  Stennett 
'T  is  for  conquering  kings  to.Tr.,/.  Chandler 
'T  is  God,  the  Spirit,  leads  J.  Montgomery 
'T  is  heaven  begun  below  . .    .  .  _/.  S^vain 

'T  is  midnight,  and,  on  Olive's. /K.  B.  Tappan 

'T  is  my  happiness  below ..    II'.  Cowper 

'T  is  not  a  cause  of  small  import./'.  Doddridge 
'T  is  not  that  I  did  choose  I'hee     ..y.  Conder 

"T  is  pure  delight  without  alloy /.  Watts 

'T  is  sweet  to  rest  in  lively A.  M.  Toplady 

'T  is  the  great  Father  vis. .Mrs.  M.  G.  Saffery 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


717 


To  bless  Thy  chosen  race N.  Tate  I 

To  Calvary,  Lord,  in  spirit  now E.  Denny  j 

To  Christ,  the  Lord,  let  every  ...  .6-.  Stennett 
1  o  Chnst,  the  Prince  of  peace.Tr.,  E.Caywall  \ 

To-day,  O  Lord,  a  holier  work  C.  Coffin  , 

To-day,  the  Saviour  calls.   i'.  ^■^'"''"  \ 

To-day,  the  Saviour  rose   7-  ^"^f/"^  \ 

To-day,  J'hy  mercy  calls  me . . .  O.  A  lien 

To  Cod  be  glory,  peace.. Tr.,  Tate  and  Brady 

To  God  I  cried  when  troubles  rose /.  Watts 

To  God  most  awful  and  most . ./.  Montgomery 
To  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son.  /.  Watts 
To  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son  .E.  Osier 
To  God,  the  great,  the  ever-blessed../.  Watts 

To  God.  the  only  Wise,  our /.  Watts 

To  God,  the  only  Wise,  who I.  Watts 

To  hail  Ihine  advent,  Lord...Tr.,  W.  Mercer 
To  hail  Thy  rising.  Sun  of  life. ...7-  Morrison 

To  heaven  I  lift  mine  eyes /•  '^^"^'-^ 

To  heaven  I  lift  my  waiting  eyes.      .  /.  Watts 

To  Him  that  chose  us  first /■  J*'/"/ 

To  Him  who  loved  the  souls  of  men  . /.  Watts 
To  Jesus,  our  exalted  Lord  .Miss  A.  Steele 
To  Jesus,  the  Crown  of  my  hope. .  W.  Cowf-er 
To  Thee,  my  God  and  Saviour.  ...T.  ff  awe's 
To-morrow.  Lord!  is  Thine..../'.  Doddridge 

To  our  almighty  .Maker,  God /•  H'fts 

To  our  Redeemer's  glorious  Miss  A.  Steele 
To  praise  our  Shepherd's  ....W.H.  Havergal 

To  praise  the  cver-hounteous ./.  ^eedham 

To  spend  one  sacred  day   ./•  iyatts 

To  the  name  of  God  on  high ....  H.  Bonar 
To  the  name  that  brings  salvation./.  M.  S^eale 
To  Thee  be  glory,  honor,  praise  . . .  Theodutph 
To  Thee,  ray  God  and  Saviour!..  ..T.  Haweis 
To  Thee,  my  Ciod,  whose  presence. ../.  Hiason 
To  Thee,  my  Shepherd  and. .  .O.  Heginbothom 

To  Thee,  O  dear,  dear J.S.  B.  Monscll 

To  Thee,  O  Lord,  with  dawning  .R.  Heber 
To  Thy  pastures  fair  and  large   . . .  ./.  Mer>  ick 

To  Thy  temple  I  repair  ./.  Montgomery 

To  u-  a  Child  of  hope  is  born M.  Bruce 

'I'o  yovir  Creator,  God Miss  A.  Steele 

Together  with  those  symbols ./.  Cennick 

Too  long,  alas,  I  vainly  sought 

J.  Bur  ridge,  from/.  Cennick 

Too  soon  we  rose,  the  symbols H.  Bonar 

Tossed  upon  life's  raging   G.  W.  Bet/tune 

Trembling  before  Thine  awful.^.  L.  Hillhouse 
Trinity,  Unity,  Deity J-M.  Neale 


Triumphant  Lord.  1  hy  goodness./".  Doddridge 
Triumphant  Zion  !  lift  thy  head../".  Doddridge  , 
True  bread  of  life  in  pitying  mercy  ...ff.  Bonar 
Truths  which  prophets  sought  in  vain..£.  Osier  ' 

'T  was  by  an  order  from  the  Lord /.  l^  atts 

'T  was  on  that  dark,  that  doleful   /.  Watts  , 

'T  was  tie  commission  of  our  Lord..     /.  II  atts 

Unite,  my  roving  thoughts P.  Doddridge 

United  prayers  ascend  to  Thee. .  W.  B.  Collyer 

Unshaken  as  the  sacred  hill A  Watts 

Unveil,  O  Lord,  and  on  us  shine./,  ff.  Newman 

Unveil  thy  bosom,  faithful  tomb! /.  IV atts 

Up  to  the  hills  I  lift  mine  eyes. .  ../.  H  atts 
Up  to  the  Lord,  who  reigns  on  high .  f.VVatts 

Uphold  me.  Lord,  too  prone  to ff.  F.  Lyte 

Uplift  the  blood-red  banner B.  Gougk 

Upon  the  Gospel's  sacred  page. . . ./.  Bowring 

Upward  I  lift  mine  eyes     A  "■  atts 

Upward,  O  Lord  I  to  Thee H.  Bateman 

Upward  where  the  stars  are  h\amn%.ff.  Bonar 

Vain  are  all  terrestrial  pleasures D.  E.  Ford 

Vain  are  the  hopes  the  sons  of  men. ../.  /(  <i^^.f 

Vain,  delusive  world  !  adieu  ! C.  11  esley 

Vain  man,  thy  fond  pursuits  forbear. ../.  «3r^ 
Vain  were  all  our  toil  and  labor.    .  ..H.h.L.yte 

Victorious  from  the  dreadful  fight E.  Osier 

Virgin-born,  we  bow  before  Thee.  .^.  "^t?er 
Wait,  my  soul  !  upon  the  \j:>xA....W  F.  Lloyd 
Wait,  O  my  soul !  thy  Maker's.  ...B.  Beddome 


Wake  and  lift  up  thyself,  my  heart T.  Ken 

Wake  !  awake  for. . .  .Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winfiwortft 
Wake  from  the  dead,  new  life  begin. . .  E.  Osier 

Wake  the  song  of  jubilee L.Bacon 

Wake  thee,  O  Zion  !  thy  mourning./?.  Palmer 
Waked  by  the  trumpet's  sound  ..C.  Wesley 
Warrior  kings,  fre>h  glory,  i  r  ,/.  Cliandler  (a) 
Was  it  for  me,  dear  Lord,  for  me..//.  Bateman 
Watchman,  tell  us  of  the  night !.  . ./.  Bowring 
Wayfarers  in  the  wilderness..^.  R.  Thompson 

We  are  but  strangers . .    T.  R.  Taylor 

We  are  little  Christian  ..1/r J.  C.  F.  Alexander 
We  are  living,  we  are  dwelling  ..  .A.  C.  Coxe 
We  bid  Thee  welcome  in  the. . ./.  Montgomery 
We  bless  the  Prophet  of  the  Lord. . . ./.  Watts 
We  cannot  always  trace  the  way.     J.  Bowring 

We  come,  O  Lord  !  before  Thy L.  Bacon 

We  did  not  see  Thee  lifted  high../.  H.  Gurney 

We  give  immortal  praise /•  Watts 

We  give  Thee  but  I'hine  own  W.  W.  How 
We  hail  Thee,  Lord,  thy  church's  rock 

:V.  L.  Zinzendorf.^  (torn  Jacobi 

We  have  a  house  above         C.  Wesley 

We  lift  our  hearts  to  Thee         /•  "  esUy 

We  love  1  hee.  Lord,  yet  not.Mrs./.  A.  Elliott 

We  mourn  for  those  ^Nho.^/rs.  L.  If.  Sigourney 

We  saw  Thee  not  when  Thou. .  /.  H.  Gurtuy 

\  We  sing  His  love  who  once  was  slain   .R.  Hill 

I  We  sing  the  deep  my-terious /".  f)oddridge 

We  sing  the  praise  of  Him  who  died  . .  /'.  Kelly 
We  sing  to  Thee,  Thou  Son.Tr.,  J.  Cennick  (a) 
We  sinners.  Lord,  with. Bernard de  Clairvaux 

We  stand  in  deep  repentance  R.  Palmer 

We  stand  on  hallowed  ground     .  .    . .   E.  Osier 

We  thank  Thee,  Father  \.Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney 
We  thank  Thee,  Lord,  for  this  our./.  Cennick 
We  tread  the  path  omx... Mrs.  A .  L.  Barbaucd 
We  wake  !  we  wake  !  ye  heavenly     T.  Ken  (a) 
Weary  of  wandering  from  my  God.  ..C.  Il'edey 
Weary  sinner,  keep  thine  eyes.^.  At.  Toplady 
Weep  not  for  a  brother  deceased         C.  It  esuy 
Welcome,  brethren  !  enter  in.     .  /.  Edmeston 
Welcome,  days  of  solemn  meeting.  5.  F.  Smitli 
Welcome,  O  Saviour!  to  my  heart..//.  Bourne 
Welcome,  sweet  day ,  of  days  the  best.5.  Browne 
Welcome,  sweet  day  of  rest !.  . . .    . . . ./.  Watts 

Welcome,  Thou  victor  in  tlie  strife 

B.  Schmolke,  Tr.,  .1/?."  C.  M  inkwortli 
I  Welcome,  welcome,  dear  Redcem'r  !.  W.Mason 
I  Welcome,  welcome,  sinner,  here     .  J.Conder 

We're  bound  tor  yonder  land /•  Felly 

We've  no  abiding  city  here ;,!,•'' 

What  a  friend  we  have  in  Jesus         .H.  bonar 

I  What  a  strange  and   Miss  D.  A.  Thrupp 

What  are  these  arrayed  in  while.         t.  l\  es.ey 

.  What  are  these  in  bright  array/.  Montgomery 

;  What  are  those  soul-reviving   ./.  Montgomery 

I  What  can  relieve  the  troubled  /K.  H.  f^'^'f'"^"/ 

What  equal  honors  shall  we  bring         /.  Watts 

i  What  finite  power  with  ceaseless.J/?^^  E.  -Scott 

What  glory  gilds  the  sacred  page. .  W  Cowper 

What  Irace.  O  lord,  and  beamy ..  ..E.Denny 

1  What  hath  God  wrought !  might. . .  T.  Gibbons 

What  is  life  ?  't  is  but  a  vapor /•  Felly 

What  majesty  and  grace ^.  Stennett 

What  our  Father  does  is  well 

B  Sc/imolke,  Tr.,  H.  W.  Baker 
What  scenes  of  horror  and  oi  ire^A.y.Fawcett 
What  secret  place,  what  distant  star.  T.H.GiU 

What  shall  I  render  to  my  God /.  Watts 

What  shall  the  dying  sinner  do  /.  Watts 

What  shall  we  ask  of  God  in. ../.  Montgomery 
What  sinners  value  I  resign  ..  ...  /.  Watts 
What  star  is  this,  with  beams  so  bright 
wnai  star  ^,  Coffin.  Tr.,  J.  Cfiandler 
What  strange  perplexities  arise ...  S- Davies 
What  though  downy  %\nvahexs..  .P.  Doddridge 
What  though  my  frail  eyelids..^..!/.  ifPlady 
What  though  the  arm  of P.  Doddridge 


718 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


What  various  hindrances  we  meet.  W.  Cowper 
Whate'er  my  God.  ..Tr.,  Miss  C.  Wink'woj-th 
When  adverse  winds. .  .Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney 
When  all  Thy  mercies,  O  my  God  !._/.  Addison 
When  along  life's  thorny  road.    . .   J.  G.  Deck 

When  as  returns  thi, Mrs.  A.  L.  Barbautd 

When  at  this  distance,  Lord  !..../'.  Doddridge 
When  at  Thy  footstool, Lord  !  I  bend.//.  F.  Lyte 
When,  bending  o'er  the  brink  of.  W.  B.  Collyer 

When  blooming  youth  is  Miss  A .  Steele 

When  came  in  flesh  the  incarnate.  J.  Anstice 
When  Christ  came  down.  J/rj-.  C.  F.  A  lexander 
When  darkness  long  has  veiled  my.  W.  Coivper 
When  doomed  lo  death  the  .  /K.  C.  Bryajit 
When  downward  to  the  darksome  R.  Faimer 
When  first  before  His  mercy-seat. .  .J.  Aetvtofi 
When  first  o'erwhelmed  with  sin  and._/.  G.  Deck 
When  gathering  ck'uds  around  I  view. A".  Grant 
When  (jod  of  old  came  down  from.  . . ._/.  Keble 
When  God  restored  our  captive  state./.  Watts 
When  God  revealed  His  gracious.  . . ./.  Watts 
When,  gracious  Lord  !  when  shall  it.C.  Wesley 
When  human  hopes  all  wither. /!//.?.?  C.  Elliott 
When  I  can  read  my  title  clear  .  ../.  Watts 
When  I  can  trust  myall  with  God..y.  Conder 
When  1  survey  the  wondrous  cross.../.  Watts 

When  I  view  my  Saviour  bleeding R.  Lee 

When  in  our  hour  of.Tr.,  Miss  C.  Winkiuorth 
When  in  the  hour  of  lonely  woe. . ..  .J.  Conder 
When  Israel  forth  from  Egypt  went...  E.  Osier 

When  Israel  of  the  Lord  beloved W.  Scott 

When  Jesus  dwelt  in  mortal  clay.. .  T.  Gibbons 
When  Jesus  left  His  Father's..,/.  Montgomery 
When  Jordan  hushed  his  waters../'.  Campbell 
When  languor  and  disease  . . .  .A.  M.  Toplady 
When,  like  a  stranger  on  our.  J.  Moiitgoniery 
When,  Lord!  to  this  our  H.  U.  Onderdonk 
When,  marshaled  on  the  nightly.//.  A'.  White 

When  morning  gilds  the  skies E.  Casiuall 

When  musing  sorrow  weeps  the  .  ..G.  T.  Noel 
When,  my  Saviour  !  shall  I  be  ..  .C.  Wesley 
When,  O  d^ar  Jesus  !  when  shall  \.J.  Cennick 

When  on  Sinai's  top  I  see J.  Montgomery 

When  on  the  brink  of  death W.  B.  Collyer 

When  our  heads  are  bowed  ..  .H.  H,  Milman 
When,  overwhelmed  with  grief  .../.  Watts 
When,  rising  from  the  bed  of  death.  J.  Addison 
When  shades  of  night  around  us  close. .C  Coffin 
When  shall  I  hear  the  inward  voice. .  C  Wesley 
When  shall  I,  Lord,  a  journey  take.-T.  H.  Gill 
When  shall  the  voice  of  singing..  J.  Edmesto?i 

When  shall  Thy  love  constrain C.  Wesley 

When  sins  and  fears  prevailing.. .IZ/ji-  A.  Steele 

When  streaming  from  the (/'.  Shrubsole^Jr. 

When  the  weary  seeking  rest H.  Bonar 

When  the  worn  spirit  wants    J.  Edmesion 

When  the  blind  suppliant  in  the..(/''.  C.  Bryant 

When  the  patriarch  was Tr.,  E.  Cas-wall 

When  the  soft  dews  of  kindly  sleep. .  .J.  Keble 
When  this  passing  world  is.  .R.  M.  McCheyne 
When  Thou,  my  righteous  Mrs.  S.  Shirley 
When  through  the  torn  sail  the  wild.. j*;".  Heber 

When  thy  mortal  life  is  fled S.  F.  Smith 

When  time  seems  short,  and. .  ..G.  W.  Bethune 
When  waves  of  trouble  round...7l//jj' C  Elliott 
When  we,  our  wearied  limbs  to  rest.  ...N.  Tate 
When,  wounded  sore.  ...Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander 
Whence  do  our  mournful  thoughts. . ../.  Watts 
Whene'er  the  angry  passions  ..Miss  A.  Steele 
Where  high  the  heavenly  temple...  .M.Bruce 
Where  is  my  God  ?  does  He . .     Miss  A .  Steele 

Where,  O  my  soul,  oh  where T.  Scott 

Where  two  or  three,  with  sweet..  ..S.  Siennett 
Where  wilt  Thou  put..  .Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney 
Wherever  two  or  three  may  meet..  T.  Hastings 
Wherefore  so  heavy,  O  my  soul         E.  Casivall 

Wherewith,  O  Go^,  shall  I  draw C.  Wesley 

While  beauty  clothes  the  fertile.. y1//jj^.  Steele 
While  carnal  men,  with  all  their. .  .B.  Beddome 


While  I  to  grief  my  soul  gave  way. .  J.  Newton 
While  in  sweet  communion  feeding. ...£.  Denny 
While  in  this  sacred  rite  of  Thine. .6".  F.  Smith 

While  life  prolongs  its  precious T.  Dwight 

While  mercy  invites  you T.  Hastings 

While  my  Redeemer's  near  .  .  .Miss  A.  Steele 
While  o'er  our  guilty  land,  O  Lord  . .  ..S".  Davies 
While  on  the  veigeof  life  I  stand./".  Doddridge 
While  others  strive  and  hope..  ..Miss  A.  Steele 
While  shepherds  watch  their  flocks...  .N.  Tate 
While  thiough  this  changing.  .J'.  Montgomery 
While  verdant  hill  and  blooming. /i/?jj^  .  Steele 
While,  with  ceaseless  course,  the   .  .J.  Newton 

Whilst  Thee  I  seek   MissH.  M.  Williams 

Who  are  these  arrayed  in  white. .  C.  Wesley  (a) 
Who  are  these  in  bright  array  .J.  Sifontgomery 
Who  are  these  like  stars  appearing 

H.  T.  Schciik,  Tr  ,  Miss  F.  E.  Cox 
Who  are  these  that  come  from  far  ?  T.  Kelly  (?) 

Who  are  they  whose  little  feet J.  Edineston 

Who  can  describe  the  joys  that  rise     ./.  Watts 

Who  can  forbear  to  sing y.  Swain 

Who  is  this  that  comes  from  Edom. .  .  T.  Kelly 
Who  is  thy  neighbor  ?  He  //'.  B.  O.  Peabody 
Who  of  men  hatli  skill  to..Tr.,  J.M.Neale  (a) 

Who  shall  ascend  Thy  heavenly /.   Watts 

Who  shall  the  Lord's  elect  condemn  ?  /.  Watts 
Whom  should  we  love  like  1  hee. .  ..//.  F.  Lyte 
Why  do  we  mourn  departing  friends. ./.  Watts 
Why  does  your  face,  ye  humble  souls  !  /.  Watts 

V\'hy  doth  my  Saviour  weep         J.  Keble 

Why  doth  that  impious  Herod  fear 

Coelius  Sedulius,  Tr.,y.  M.Neale 
Why  is  my  heart  so  far  from  Thee.  .  .  /.  Watts 
Why,  Saviour,  dost  Thou  come... /v.  Campbell 
Why  search  ye  in  the  narrow..//'.  H.  Bathurst 
Why  should  I  fear  the  darkest  hour.y.  Newton 
Why  should  the  children  of  a  King. . ./.  Watts 
Why  should  we  dread  our  mortal.,  is.  Osier  (a.) 
Why  should  we  start  and  fear  to  die. ./.  Watts 

Why  sleep  we,  my  brethren  .' J.  Hopkins 

Why  that  soul's  commotion 7".  Hastings 

Why  will  ye  waste  on  trifling. .   .P.  Doddridge 

Wilt  1  hou  not.  my  Shepherd y.  Scheffler 

With  all  my  powers  of  heart  and /.  Watts 

With  anxious  eyes  I  look JSHss  C.  Elliott 

With  broken  heart  and  contrite  sigh...C.  Elvin 
With  Christ  we  share  a  mystic. .  J.  M.  Neale 
With  earnest  longings  of  the  mind     ../.  Watts 

With  ecstasy  of  joy  P.Doddridge 

With  gentle  voice  the  angel  gave. .  /.  M .  Neale 
With  glory  clad,  with  strength.  Tate  and  Brady 
With  grateful  hearts,  wilh  joyful  A.Kippis 
With  heavenly  power,  O  Lord,  defend   .  R.  Hill 

With  humble  heart  and  tongue J.  Fawcett 

With  joy  I  see  a  thousand  . .  .P.  Doddridge 
With  joy  may  I  behold  the  day. .  .  ..J.  Merrick 
With  joy  we  hail  the  sacred   . .  .Miss  H.  A uber 

With  joy  we  lift  our  eyes  T.  Jervis 

With  joy  we  meditate  the  grace /.  Watts 

With  my  substance  I  will  honor B.  Francis 

With  my  whole  heart  I've  sought  Thy./.  Waits 
With  one  consent  let  all  the  earth  .  .  ..N.  Tate 
With  reverence  let  the  saints  appear  . ./.  Watts 
With  sacred  joy  we  lift  our  eyes  ....  7'.  yervis 
With  songs  and  honors  sounding  ..  . /.  Watts 
With  songs  of  sacred  joy  . .  ..P.  Doddridge 
With  tearful  eyes  I  look  around. ./1/z'm  C.  Elliott 
With  tears  of  anguish  I  lament  ...S.  Stenneti 
With  thankful  hearts  our  songs.  £■.  Bickcrsteth 
With  transport.  Lord  !  our  souls../".  Doddridge 

With  willing  hearts  we  tread 5.  F  Smith 

Witness,  ye  men  and  angels  !  now../9.  Beddome 
Within  Thy  temple's  hallowed  bound. £.  Osier 
Word  Supreme  before  creation  .    .y.  Keble 

Work  while  it  is  to-day .J.  Montgomery 

Workman  of  God,  O  lose  not F.  W.  Faber 

Worship,  honor,  glory,  blessing  .  .E.  Osier 
Worship  the  Lord  in  the J.  S.  B.  Monsell 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS. 


719 


Worthy  the  Lamb  of  boundless W.  Shirley 

Would  you  win  a  soul  to  God.  .    W.  Hammond 
■\V'ouldst  thou  eternal  life  obtain      .  .R.  Palmer 

Wretched,  helpless,  and  distrest   C.  IVesley 

Ye  angels,  who  stand  round. Miss  M.  DeFleiiry 

Ye  boundless  realms  of  joy  ! N.  Tate 

Ye  choirs  of  New  Jerusalem  ! 

Fiilberty  Tt.,R.  Campbell 
Ye  daughters  of  Zion  !  declare,  have../.  Swain 

Ye  dying  sons  of  men  ! J.  Boden 

Ye  glittering  toys  of  earth  ! Miss  A .  Steele 

Ye  golden  lamps  of  heaven P.  Doddridge 

Ye  hearts,  with  youthful  vigor.  ..Z'.  Doddridge 

Ye  holy  angels,  bright R,  Baxter  (a) 

Ye  holy  souls  !  in  God  rejoice /.  Watts 

Ye  humble  souls  !  approach Miss  A .  Steele 

Ye  men  and  angels,  witness  now.. .5.  Beddome 

Ye  mourning  saints,  whose P.  Doddridge 

Ye  nations  round  the  earth  !  rejoice  . ./.  Watts 
Ye  saints  and  servants  of  the..  Tate  and  Brady 

Ye  saints  !  your  music  bring A.  Reed 

Ye  servants  of  a  martyred Tr.,  R.  Campbell 

Ye  servants  of  God  !  your  Master C.  Wesley 

Ye  servants  of  our  glorious. .   Tr.,  R.  Campbell 

Ye  servants  of  th'  almighty  King  ! /.  Watts 

Ye  servants  of  the  living  God  !  W.  H.  Batliurst 

Ye  servants  of  the  Lord  ! P.  Doddridge 

Ye  simple  souls  that  stray J.  Wesley 


Ye  sinners  !  fear  the  Lord   T.  Dwighi 

Ye  sons  and  daughters  of  the..Tr.,y.  M.  Neale 

Ye  sons  of  men  !  with  joy P.  Doddridge 

Ye  that  delight  to  serve  the  Lord /.  Watts 

Ye  that  in  His  courts  are  found  ! R.  Hill 

Ye  that  pass  by,  behold  the  Man  ..  .C.Wesley 
Ye  trembling  souls  !  dismiss  your..5.  Beddome 

Ye  tribes  of  Adam  !  join   /.  Watts 

Ye  wretched,  hungry,  starving.. if zW  A.  Steele 

Yes,  for  me,  for  me  He  careth H.  Bonar 

Yes,  He  is  mine  !  and  naught  of  . .  H.  F.  Lyte 
Yes,  I  do  feel,  my  God,  that  \.J.  S.  B.  Monsell 
Yes,  I  will  bless  Thee,  O  my.. (9.  Heginbothom 
Yes,  my  native  land,  I  love  thee     .6".  F.  Smith 

Yes,  the  Redeemer  rose P.  Doddridge 

Yes,  we  trust  the  day  is  breaking T.  Kelly 

Yield  to  me  now,  for  I  am  weak C.  Wesley 

Your  harps,  ye  trembling A.  M.  Toplady 

Your  hearts  and  tongues,  ye  saints   . .  E.  Osier 

Zion,  a  mourner  long         B.  Beddome 

Zion  !  awake,  thy  strength  renew.  JF.  Shrubsole 

Zion,  dreary  and  in  anguish 7".  Hastings 

Zion  IS  Jehovah's  dwelling T.  Kelly 

Zion  stands  with  hills  surrounded  .  T.  Kelly 
Zion  !  the  marvelous  story.,  /i^.  A.Muhlenberg 

Zion!  to  thy  Saviour Tr.,^.j^.  Thoinpson 

Zion  s  daughter,  weep  no..  ..Tr.,  H.  W.  Baker 


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RELIGIO-POLITICAL  RI( 

rpiIE  late  riot  at  St.  Louis — a  i  | 
Jl  tailed  account  of  which  than  th  7: 
appeared  in  our  columns  last  w  '^ 
received,  but  too  late  for  our  use  "g 
another  of  the  many  recent  indicati  ^ 
the  religious  element  is  becoming  n  "S 
more  involved  in  the  political  movei  o 
the  day.  The  outbreak  at  St.  Louis  ^ 
ostensibly  on  this  ground,  but  it  ass 
a  considerable  extent,  the  aspect  ol  ^ 
flict  between  religions  and  races-  c. 
Catholic  L'ish,  and  Infidel  and  Pop  -~^_ 
mans,  being  the  one  party,  and  Pi  ^ 


Americans  the 


other.     We  cannot 
~  "viTirftliensions  the  tN 


